Pompeo Hires Former Trump Critic as Point Person on Venezuela
- Elliott Abrams had been considered for State job in 2017
- Abrams was known for his support of Nicaraguan rebels in 1980s
Elliott Abrams talks to reporters during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, on Jan. 25.
Photographer: Manuel Balce Ceneta/APThis article is for subscribers only.
Secretary of State Michael Pompeo tapped Elliott Abrams, a former White House official whose appointment as Rex Tillerson’s deputy was nixed because of his past criticisms of Donald Trump, to steer U.S. policy toward Venezuela.
In a surprise announcement Friday afternoon, Pompeo said Abrams would take the lead toward Venezuela now that the U.S. has recognized National Assembly President Juan Guaido as the country’s interim leader and declared President Nicolas Maduro’s rule illegitimate. Abrams’s first assignment will be to join Pompeo in New York on Saturday for a United Nations Security Council meeting on Venezuela.