Billionaire CEOs, Supreme Court justices, political heavyweights and ambassadors arrive in evening attire as they're escorted by private elevator to dinner with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. nbcnews.com/politics/polit…
State Department officials involved in the dinners said they had raised concerns internally that the events were essentially using federal resources to cultivate a donor and supporter base for Pompeo's political ambitions —
Pompeo held about two dozen Madison dinners since taking over in 2018.
"I am concerned by allegations that the Secretary appears to be using those taxpayer resources to host large domestic-focused political gatherings that serve little-to-no foreign policy purpose," Sen. Bob Menendez the top Dem on the Foreign Relations Committee, wrote in
As Trump was edging away from a potential military confrontation with Iran in Jan at one of the final dinners before the pandemic, Pompeo and his wife hosted the Saudi ambassador