U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday.
He is expected to provide details on President Trump’s meetings with Russian President Vladimir Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. Members of Congress have requested the details to understand President Trump’s approach to Russia and North Korea, as well as Iran.
Pompeo told reporters Tuesday: “I am looking forward to testifying tomorrow — will testify about a lot of things, including the relationship between the United States and Russia.”
The hearing was scheduled to begin at 3:00 p.m. Watch the live feed here:
Lawmakers have been especially concerned with the details from Trump’s private two-hour meeting in Helsinki with Putin, and whether or not the two leaders made an agreement much like the Singapore summit with Kim.
“All of us are worried about what was promised,” said Sen. Jeff Flake, a committee member, USA Today reported. “I mean whether it has to do with military exercises, troop placement, NATO expansion, we just don’t know.”
The worries stem from Trump’s comments at the joint press conference in Helsinki after his meeting with Putin. Trump questioned the trustworthiness of U.S. intelligence agencies’ findings that Russian hackers interfered in the 2016 Presidential election.
His remarks led to widespread criticism from both Democrats and Republicans – some even going so far as to say Trump was a traitor for putting Russia ahead of the U.S.
However, the day after the summit, Trump met with reporters and admitted he misspoke in his remarks. When he said he didn’t see how the election meddling “would” be Russia, he meant that he didn’t see how it “wouldn’t” be Russia, Trump explained.
Trump said that his approach to talks with Russia was centered on peace, not politics.
Trump and Pompeo both maintained that the world would benefit from talks at the summit.
“I think one of the things that gets lost is the determination this administration has had in pushing back against Russian malign behavior around the world,” Pompeo said on Tuesday.
Pompeo provided little details on topics discussed at the Trump-Putin summit, but did mention that the two leaders agreed to establish a business council.
Sen. Bob Corker, chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, is expected to question Pompeo on Trump’s criticisms of American allies and potential friction caused in those relationships.
The criticisms include Trump accusing Germany of being “captive to Russia” due to its support of a Russian pipeline and dependency on Russian natural gas. Trump also criticized British Prime Minister Theresa May for her poor handling of the Brexit process.
Corker said he would focus on “the continual undermining of Americans’ view of NATO, purposefully” at the hearing.
Sen. Chris Murphy said: “I want to know what he’s going to do to repair the damage that’s been done to the transatlantic alliance. Some of it is irreparable but we have to have an action plan.”
