(AP) – After refusing to acknowledge President Donald Trump’s loss in last week’s election, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is heading overseas on a trip to Europe and the Middle East, to countries where leaders have all congratulated former vice president Joe Biden for his victory.
The trip is aimed at shoring up the outgoing Trump administration’s policies and will include visits to Israeli settlements in the West Bank that have been avoided by previous secretaries of state.
Fresh from declaring that he’s prepared for a smooth transition to a second Trump administration, Pompeo will leave Friday for what may be his diplomatic swan song, traveling to France, Turkey, Georgia, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.