>> the secretary of state of the united states michael pompeo, nicholasn pompeo, mr.

pompeo. accompanied by the president of the united states donald j. trump and the vice president of the united states mike pence. [applause] >> good morning your excellency's ladies and gentlemen and distinguished guests. welcome to the swearing-in of michael pompeo as the secretary of state.

this our honor to have the president here to officiate the ceremony. i would like to introduce ambassador marianne glendon. lord god, creator of the universe and ruler of all we ask your blessing and guidance today for our brother michael as he begins to serve his beloved country in our relations with other lands and governments. give him, we pray, near open to our needs and the needs of others. sharp the find my do have given him to discern truth from falsehood, appearances from reality. give him compassion for the oppressed and wisdom to see the way ahead, even when all looks dark. give him the joy that comes to those who spend their lives in the service of others. we asked these blessings with thankful heart and ingratitude

for the countless blessings you are ready bestowed upon our land. we ask your forgiveness for the times and we have fallen short of the great things for which you created us. please hold our brother michael closely as he embarks on this new service to his country and give him a share in your own unbounded compassion. amen. >> ladies and gentlemen, in his first visit to the state department it is my honor to introduce the president of the united states. [applause] say that is more

spirit than i have heard from the state department in a long time, many years. [laughter] we can say many years, maybe many decades. it is going to be a fantastic start to a fantastic day. that spirit will only be magnified. with this man right here, i know that. thank you all for being here. , the great to be with you extraordinary men and women of the state department. we are profoundly grateful for everything you do for our country and you will be doing things you don't even know about. right now they are not even a glimmer in your. -- your eye. we have a couple going that a lot of people don't know about that are very encouraging. i want to thank vice president pence and the many members of my cabinet for joining us this morning. we are here to celebrate the swearing-in of america's new secretary of state, mike pompeo.

[applause] this day is a testament to your exceptional skill, mike. your skill and service has been honed over a lifetime. we are joined by mike's wife susan and his son. i want to thank you for sharing this moment with us. thank you. [applause] mike is a true american patriot. he has devoted many years of his life to defending america, beginning when he entered west point. as you all heard, he entered at 18 and ended up graduating first in his class. i heard that rumor a long time ago. i thought it was a rumor.

[laughter] times, iard it so many have also heard i was first in my class at the warner school of finance. sometimes when you hear it you don't say anything. you just let it go. being first in class at west point. i know that is a big deal. true, yes. that i brought it up four weeks ago and after that everyone brings it up. hisas actually first in class at west point. soon he was deployed to germany where he served a cavalry officer prior to the fall of the berlin wall. after leaving active duty service he graduated from harvard law school with high honors. he was elected to congress in 2010 by the people of the fourth district of a great state, kansas. [applause]

it is. in the house he distinguished himself as a member of the intelligence committee. for the last 15 months he served our nation as the director of the central intelligence agency where i can to you they have such respect for him it is unbelievable. they may be the only people that are not very happy right now. [laughter] they will be happy with gina who is here today. exceptional leadership of the cia earned the admiration of his colleagues from the cabinet, to congress, the intelligence community as well as our foreign allies. mike has also earned respect and admiration, you will see why over the coming years. probably over the coming months. i have absolute confidence he will do an incredible job as the nation's 70 and secretary of state.

as mike travels the world he will carry out the greatest mission and highest duty of the state department, to represent the interests of the american people. this mission includes overseeing more than 13,000 foreign service officers who act as our representatives to the world, , and0 consular officers the administrator of an incredible immigration system, a system were going to be changing, fixing, and making better. a system that is under siege right now. , system that will in fact hopefully, be the talk of the world by the time we're finished. personnel00 security and thousands more diplomats, embassy staff, civil servants, and administrative personnel, all of whom collectively play a vital role in advancing the safety, liberty, prosperity, and

all good things of the united states. very important people, great people. as president eisenhower said, make no mistake the reason we have representatives around the world is to protect american interests. for nearly two hundred 30 years the men and women of the united states state department have skillfully and proudly answered this call. at this moment in time i can think of no better person to lead these dedicated public servants than our new secretary of state, mike pompeo. secretary pompeo, .ongratulations again i have no doubt that you will make america proud as our nation's chief diplomat. you are an exceptional guy, a great friend, and someone who loves our country. .e are really proud of you

i speak on behalf of everybody in this room and on behalf of your family. thank you very much, mike, and congratulations. [applause] i would like to ask vice president pence to administer the oath of office. thank you. >> raise your right hand and repeat after me.

i mike pompeo do solemnly swear. >> i mike pompeo do solemnly swear. >> that i will support and defend the constitution of the united states. >> against all enemies foreign and domestic or it -- >> that i will bear true faith and allegiance to the same. i take this obligation freely. without any mental reservations, or purpose of evasion area that i will well and faithfully discharge the duties. of the office upon which i'm about to enter. so help me god. congratulations. [applause]

>> this is truly humbling. thank you very much, mr. president, for those kind words. thank you mr. vice president for being here to honor me. thank you, ambassador. thank you, ambassador for the -- i used to work for her for $7.25 an hour. [laughter] it is such an honor to have so many distinguished guests here. thank you for coming today. i was glad to see the usda administrator, i look forward to working with you. i want to first think god for this opportunity and for the many blessings he has granted to me in my life.

my wife susan and my son nick are the greatest of these. they are my number one fans, most days. [laughter] they have shown unyielding support throughout my confirmation process and in every other state of my public service career. i love you both very much. [applause] i want to thank john sullivan, where is john? john, thank you for your service in this interim. -- interim period. mr. president, i also want to say thank you to you. with ae entrusted me weighty and awesome responsibility to serve the american people. rector of cia and now as the secretary of state. this responsibility becomes more sobering when we consider the

threats to american security, prosperity, and liberty. i promised my team will be unrelenting in confronting those threats. diplomacyploy tough when necessary to put the interests of the american people first. i will work to ensure their safety, to preserve their rights and defend their values. i will make sure america is always a respected and principal leader on the world stage. [applause] we are but 15 months into this administration and we have already made progress by speaking the truth to the challenges we face, by confronting them head on, by partnering with strong sovereign independent nations to make the world more prosperous and secure. we have put a hurt on the isis caliphate in iraq and syria. we have done so by great diplomatic work.

we are confronting all types of iranian hostility and deciding on the next steps for the flawed jcpoa. we have imposed real for itsnces on russia actions. we will soon move our embassy in israel to jerusalem years ahead of schedule. [applause] we are bringing fairness and reciprocity to our economic relationship with china and protecting our intellectual property from them as well. [applause] we saw in your meetings last week with president mccrone and on and chancellor merkel -- right now we have an unprecedented opportunity to change the course of history on the korean peninsula. we are in the beginning stages of the work and the outcome is yet unknown.

one thing is certain, this administration will not repeat the mistakes of the past. our eyes are wide open. it is time to solve this once and for all. a bad deal is not an option. the american people are counting on us to get this right. there committed to permanent, verifiable dismantling of north korea's weapons of mass destruction program and to do so without delay. to my colleagues here, when i say we are going to do this i mean we. this is a team effort at the state department and the whole of the united states government. mr. president, when you offered me the job to be the director of cia i was honored to lead the world's finest intelligence corps. i am humbled by the opportunity to lead the world's finest diplomatic corps. [applause] mr. president, you read a great quote from the greatest

president ever from kansas. [laughter] it was a historic quote but things have not changed much since then. i've been an army officer, congressman, director of cia, now here at state. we have much to do. in every position i have had i have witnessed the skills, expertise, and patriotism of our foreign affairs professional. but they are political appointees or local employed line, you all lay on the to make sure america is safe, prosperous, and re-. -- free. thank you for that. [applause] as i have said, i babble elaborate more, i want the state department to get its swagger more, ii will elaborate want the state department to get its swagger back.

i'm counting on you all to help communicate to every corner of the world. confidencent, i have that my team in washington and around the world can and will execute that mission for the benefit of the american people. i am eager to work with you to get that job done. you all know this is essential work. that is why you are here. thank you also much for the warm welcome i have received in the first few days. i can't wait to get after this with you. thank you mr. president for your trust and leadership and faith in may. -- me. thank you. [applause]

>> the ceremonial swearing-in of mike pompeo as secretary of state. he was officially sworn in last week by supreme court justice samuel alito. hours later the new secretary of state headed to brussels for a meeting with no