WASHINGTON, April 9 – Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) issued the following statement Monday ahead of the confirmation hearing for Mike Pompeo, nominee for secretary of state:

“We need a secretary of state who will represent the best principles of the United States to the rest of the world. Mike Pompeo is not that person. He is a supporter of the Global Gag Rule, which hurts our ability to promote women’s reproductive health around the world. He opposes LGBTQ rights. As the top recipient of campaign donations from the Koch brothers, he has stymied action on one of the world’s most serious security threats: global climate change. He supports the use of torture. He has longstanding relationships with anti-Muslim extremists. And his hawkish views on Iran and North Korea could very well lead us into another disastrous war. For all of these reasons, Mike Pompeo is absolutely the wrong choice to serve as the United States’ top diplomat, and I will vote against him.”