© Yuri Gripas/ABACA//Yuri Gripas/TNSFormer U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks along with members of the Republican Study Committee to introduce the Maximum Pressure Act against Iran on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 21, 2021.
WASHINGTON - Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is inserting himself into some of the Biden administration's most fraught foreign policy challenges, corralling Republicans on Capitol Hill to oppose any lifting of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program and weighing a visit to Taiwan amid increasing tensions with China.
Traditionally, former secretaries of state have been careful not to contradict U.S. messaging abroad, observing the maxim that partisan politics should stop at the water's edge. But Pompeo's advocacy on such highly sensitive foreign policy matters, only three months after leaving office, marks yet another departure from tradition for the former secretary.
Repeatedly referring to himself as a private citizen, he joined some of Congress' most conservative members Wednesday in promoting legislation to restrict his successor's ability to negotiate with Iran. And a spokesman for Pompeo confirmed that he is also considering a visit to Taiwan in the near future, a move likely to rankle both Washington and Beijing.
© Yuri Gripas/ABACA//Yuri Gripas/Yuri Gripas/ABACA/Former U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks with members of the Republican Study Committee before introducing the Maximum Pressure Act against Iran on Capitol Hill in Washington on April 21, 2021.
Chinese military activity around the island, which Beijing has claimed as its own for seven decades, has increased in recent weeks. The United States has long maintained a policy of "strategic ambiguity" that supports democracy in Taiwan without recognizing it as an independent nation.
Pompeo also consulted on legislation to prevent Biden from re-entering the Iran nuclear deal that the United States withdrew from under former President Donald Trump. Pompeo joked in November that there would be a "second Trump administration" after Biden secured his Electoral College victory.
Talks over the future of the accord have begun in Vienna, with world powers debating whether the deal should be renegotiated, or whether the United States and Iran should come back into compliance with its original terms.
But the Biden team is reluctant to lift sanctions first. And after a series of attacks against Iranian facilities sabotaged parts of its nuclear infrastructure, Tehran has aggressively ramped up its production of nuclear material.
Pompeo, who represented Kansas for six years in the U.S. House, joined former GOP colleagues on the Capitol lawn Wednesday for the unveiling of the "Maximum Pressure Act," a proposal to restrict the Biden administration from lifting sanctions against Iran unless the nation meets 12 demands Pompeo laid out during his first weeks as secretary of state in 2018.
It's unusual for a former secretary of state to propose curtailing the ability of his successor, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, to negotiate with a foreign regime.
"As a private citizen, I care deeply that Iran never has a nuclear weapon. And when I saw this legislation forming, I talked with (Indiana) Congressman (Jim) Banks and said I want to be a part of making sure this is successful," said Pompeo, flanked by members of the Republican Study Committee, a group of right-leaning lawmakers who introduced the legislation.
"This matters to my son, to my family, to people all across the state that I love back in Kansas and to every American, so it's not only appropriate but, I hope, constructive that I'm here today to help this piece of legislation to maintain sanctions on a regime that threatens us all."
The White House and State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the bill or Pompeo's involvement.
Pompeo defended his role as appropriate for a former top diplomat, citing the activity of one of his predecessors, former Secretary of State John Kerry, who now serves as Biden's special envoy for climate issues.
"I'm actually doing this publicly and openly unlike Secretary Kerry who had private conversations with the Iranians, that was trying to undermine our administration. I'm doing this in a way that is in the finest tradition of American democracy," Pompeo said. "I'm out here in front of you taking questions, talking about the important factors keeping America secure. That's how I'll behave."
Kerry, who negotiated the Iran nuclear accord in former President Barack Obama's administration, has publicly acknowledged speaking with Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif at the beginning of the Trump administration.
At the time, Trump and his allies said the conversations amounted to a violation of the Logan Act, an 18th century law that prohibits private individuals from negotiating with foreign governments on behalf of the United States without express permission. Pompeo referred to Kerry's conduct at the time as "unseemly," "unprecedented" and "beyond inappropriate."
Aides to Kerry said that he encouraged the Iranians to stick with the deal, but that communications ceased after Trump formally withdrew from the agreement, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
The GOP legislation on Iran stands little chance of passage in the Democratic-controlled House. But Pompeo's involvement fuels speculation that he will run for president in 2024 based on early visits to Iowa and a six-figure contribution to a newly formed political action committee.
Just as the press conference ended, the Republican Jewish Coalition - a group whose members' support could prove critical in a competitive presidential primary race - endorsed the legislation. "We need a much better deal than the failed JCPOA that the Biden administration is trying to revive," the group's national chairman said.
Pompeo has taken on multiple positions in recent months that provide him a platform to opine on foreign policy, including a fellowship at the Hudson Institute, a foreign policy think tank, and a recently announced gig as a paid contributor to Fox News.
During an appearance last week on Fox Business' Maria Bartiromo's show, Pompeo said Biden's administration must show resolve on the issue of Taiwan or China would be "much more likely to take action that will put the Taiwanese people at risk."
Pompeo last month met with Taiwan's representative to the U.S., Hsiao Bi-khim, an unusual move for a person no longer in charge of foreign policy. This month, he began hinting at a future trip to Taiwan.
State Department officials would not comment on the hypothetical travel of a private citizen. But one spokesperson for the department said generally that "the United States is committed to deepening our ties with Taiwan - a leading democracy and a critical economic and security partner."
China's recent moves and increasingly bellicose rhetoric from officials in Beijing have concerned U.S. officials.
"It would be a serious mistake for anyone to try to change the existing status quo by force," Blinken warned earlier this month, asked about China's increasing incursions into Taiwan's air defense zone.
The event at the Capitol comes just five days after the State Department Inspector General's office released a report finding more than 100 instances of misconduct by Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, related to their use of State Department staff time.
The violations ranged from using staffers to prepare for an event with a Kansas political organization to booking a reservation at the Cheesecake Factory.
Pompeo has maintained the behavior was within the department's ethical guidelines and decried the report as a political attack against him and his family.
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