Name: Michael Richard Pompeo

Age: 53 (date of birth: Dec. 30, 1963)

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Current occupation: U.S. representative from Kansas (2011 to present)

Relevant experience: U.S. Army, 1986-1991, cavalry officer, reached rank of Captain; House Intelligence Committee member, 2013-present

Education: U.S. Military Academy, West Point, B.S, 1986; Harvard Law School, J.D., 1994

Potential issues: With the issue of alleged Russian interference in the presidential campaign white-hot in Washington, Pompeo is expected to be pressed on whether he’ll counter President-elect Donald Trump’s conciliatory impulses toward Russian President Vladimir Putin. Pompeo, who opposed publication of a Senate report on the CIA’s interrogation practices, is also likely to face questions about his views on torture, surveillance and his condemnation of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton over the 2012 Benghazi attacks.

NOMINEE ON KEY ISSUES

Russia and the U.S. presidential campaign
Pompeo’s taken a much tougher line towards Russia than President-elect Donald Trump, warning that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a dangerous leader.

However, Pompeo’s stance on allegations that Russia mounted a hacking drive in order to try to tilt the electoral playing field toward Trump is unclear. Trump has expressed skepticism about conclusions by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia hacked Democratic political committees and operatives.

Interrogations and torture

Pompeo sharply criticized the Senate Intelligence Committee’s release of a report in 2014 that found widespread abuses in the CIA’s treatment of war-on-terror prisoners held and interrogated by the agency after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. He said the report unfairly maligned CIA personnel.

“These men and women are not torturers, they are patriots. The programs being used were within the law [and] within the Constitution,” Pompeo said. He also dismissed the Senate report as a “narcissistic self-cleansing” on the part of the Senate panel’s chairwoman, Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), and warned that it would discourage allies from aiding the U.S. in the future.

It’s unclear whether Pompeo would urge a return to tactics like waterboarding, something Trump advocated as a candidate but may be backing away from as he prepares to enter the White House.

The Benghazi attacks and Hillary Clinton

Pompeo was a strident voice on the House’s special committee to investigate the Benghazi attacks, ultimately joining in a statement that blasted former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton more harshly than most of his Republican colleagues.

Iran nuclear deal

Pompeo has been an outspoken critic of the agreement the Obama administration struck with Iran to halt its reported nuclear weapons efforts in exchange for a rollback of international sanctions. He has urged President-elect Trump to abrogate the pact.