Mike Pompeo, selected by President Donald Trump to become The United States Secretary of State and replace Rex Tillerson, is set to be voted on for the position by The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Monday, April 23rd, 2018.
Pompeo, before potential confirmation, has made tremendous strides towards closing out the Korean crisis in recent days. The former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency visited North Korea over Easter weekend and has aided in the thus-far peaceful resolution to the fifty-year Korean situation.
However, it appears as though some United States Senators are seeking to withhold the qualified politician from obtaining a nomination because of some portions of his worldview.
Mike Pompeo is believed to be a Christian and has ruffled feathers because he holds a traditional view of marriage. During Pompeo’s confirmation hearing, Senator Cory Booker grilled Pompeo on his worldview of traditional marriage, and because Mike Pompeo doesn’t house the same set of beliefs as Booker.
Booker, while questioning the Director, turned the conversation into an obscene situation by saying things like; “You believe that gay sex is a perversion? Yes or no,” the senator demanded to know. “Yes or no? Do you believe gay sex is a perversion?”
Historically, similar tests have occurred, and often they are conducted by those who oppose the Christian Worldview. Fortunately, the United States Constitution disallows such ‘Religious Tests’ to be conducted.
The U.S. Constitution explicitly prohibits the enactment of a “religious test” for holding public office. “No religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States,” Article VI states.
In addition to Senator Booker, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen is similarly passing judgment against Mike Pompeo on the basis of his worldview.
Sen. Shaheen’s stated that “… I continue to have deep concerns regarding Mr. Pompeo’s past statements and policy views, particularly in regards to the LGBTQ community, American Muslims and women’s reproductive rights. For these reasons, I have concluded that I cannot support Director Pompeo to lead the State Department at this critical time.”
I cannot support Director Mike Pompeo’s nomination to serve as Secretary of State. My statement: pic.twitter.com/F9U3tMDWGR
— Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (@SenatorShaheen) April 17, 2018
In response to the situation, Governor Mike Huckabee tweeted his disbelief at the fact that some US Senators are actively conducting a religious test against nominees.
Absolutely pathetic pandering! So Sen. Shaheen won't confirm a qualified Sec of State because he holds Biblical views? I thought Constitution forbids a religious test? If you don't support killing unborn babies, you aren't fit? God help us! https://t.co/CarbVgXYy6
— Gov. Mike Huckabee (@GovMikeHuckabee) April 18, 2018
In response to the situation, Franklin Graham wrote on Twitter;
So does holding a traditional view of marriage now make you inappropriate for public office in the eyes of some? That’s incredibly wrong—and it’s dangerous for the future of this nation. Senator @CoryBooker grilled Mike Pompeo on this topic in his Senate confirmation & is implying that you can’t have this belief and be an appointee. In other words, he’s saying you have to believe like him, or you can’t serve in the federal gov’t. Thank you, Mike Pompeo, for your boldness in standing firm on your personal convictions about same-sex marriage. We need to pray for revival in America and stay involved in our government. We can be thankful that 2 Timothy 2:9 says God’s Word cannot be chained.
However, this is not the first time that something like this has happened. Last year another Trump nominee for the Deputy Director of The White House Office of Management and Budget was grilled by Bernie Sanders because of his Christian faith.
At the time, nominee Russell Vought, because of a publication that was written by Vought for Wheaton College, Vought wrote on a conservative blog called The Resurgent; “Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology…” “They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned.”
Sanders questioned Vought if he thought that his views were Islamophobic; “Absolutely not,” replied Vought. “I’m a Christian, and I believe in a Christian set of principles based on my faith. That post … was to defend my alma mater, Wheaton College, a Christian school that has a statement of faith that includes the centrality of Jesus Christ for salvation.”
As Sanders became livid with the situation, it increasingly became clear that Senator Bernie Sanders was issuing a Religious Test against Russell Vaught. Now, Director Pompeo was under a similar firing line by Senator Booker.
Becoming increasingly apparent in the United States is the reality that some Senators are forcing those who hold a Christian worldview to undergo a form of a Religious Test for a nomination.