Summary
Trump made his first visit to the department Wednesday for the ceremonial swearing-in of Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, highlighting his relationship with the head of a Cabinet agency he largely neglected during the tenure of Rex Tillerson.
Trump's visit put a spotlight on his close ties with Pompeo. Tillerson and Trump rarely saw eye to eye on policy, and Trump felt little chemistry with the former business executive.
Pompeo, by contrast, developed a strong relationship with Trump in large part through his regular attendance at the president's daily intelligence briefing at the White House. Trump developed a personal liking for Pompeo during the 2016 campaign, when the then-GOP congressman from Kansas was one of his earliest Washington endorsers.
At the CIA, Pompeo oversaw a secret back channel to the North Korean government, and on April 1, weeks after his State Department nomination, Pompeo made a secret trip to Pyongyang to meet with Kim in advance of a potential meeting with Trump.
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