Pompeo on CIA recruitment: We can’t risk national security to appease ‘liberal, woke agenda’

Former CIA Director Mike Pompeo criticized a video recently released by the agency, saying the country “can’t afford to risk our national security to appease some liberal, woke agenda.”

“When I was Director of the CIA, we valued individuals based on their talent and skill, not their race or sexuality,” Pompeo said in a tweet on Tuesday. “I’ll never forget what one female analyst said to me: ‘Thank you for valuing me for my work. I want my abilities and achievements to define me, not my sexuality.’”

He added in a subsequent post that the “collection of incredibly talented patriots serving America at the CIA is what makes it the best spy agency in the world — and we must continue to recruit the best and brightest.”

“We can’t afford to risk our national security to appease some liberal, woke agenda.”

The collection of incredibly talented patriots serving America at the CIA is what makes it the best spy agency in the world — and we must continue to recruit the best and brightest. We can’t afford to risk our national security to appease some liberal, woke agenda.

— Mike Pompeo (@mikepompeo) May 4, 2021

Pompeo, who also served as secretary of State in the Trump administration, was referencing a “Humans of the CIA” video from the agency in which a first-generation Latin American agent discusses her “intersectional” identity.