Washington--Representative Eliot L. Engel, Chairman of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, today made the following statement:

"While many of the goals Secretary Pompeo laid out in Cairo yesterday were laudable, the speech’s tone and the Administration’s actions are at odds with the vision he offered. Just a few hundred miles from where the Secretary was speaking in Cairo, this Administration has sent terribly mixed signals about America's commitment to the fight against ISIS in Syria. Our allies have no idea whether the United States will continue to have their backs, and the President has signaled to Assad, Russia, and Iran that they can all do as they please. Mr. Pompeo told the world, 'When America retreats, chaos follows. When we neglect our friends, resentment builds. When we partner with enemies, they advance.' He's right. And the Trump Administration is guilty of all three.

"And frankly, it's just embarrassing that an American Secretary of State would travel so far just to spend so much time lobbing political insults at the previous administration. Our diplomats do their jobs regardless of the domestic political climate. They shouldn't have to listen to their boss grind a partisan axe in a foreign country."

# # #