Anti-GMO labeling bill sponsor confirmed CIA director

A former Congressman who introduced anti-GMO labeling legislation in 2015 has been confirmed as the next director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

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Mike Pompeo | US House of Representatives
Mike Pompeo | US House of Representatives

A former congressman who introduced anti-GMO labeling legislation in 2015 has been confirmed as the next director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

Mike Pompeo, a resident of Wichita, Kansas, was nominated for the post by President Donald Trump, and he was confirmed by the Senate on January 20.

Pompeo, a West Point graduate who served in the U.S. Army from 1986 to 1991, represented Kansas’ Fourth Congressional District since 2011. He was re-elected in November, but resigned from his House seat the day before his confirmation. While visiting with constituents, he often spoke fondly of his family’s farming heritage in Sumner County, Kansas.

During Pompeo’s time in the House, he sponsored the Safe and Accurate Food Labeling Act, which would have prevented states and municipalities from requiring food and feed manufacturers to label their products as containing genetically modified organisms (GMOs). It was supported by a number of agricultural groups like the American Farm Bureau Federation and National Corn Growers Association, but was never passed in the Senate.

“The mission to which President Trump has assigned me is a tough, important, and noble charge. I am looking forward to this next opportunity to serve our nation alongside our intelligence warriors,” Pompeo said in an email to Kansas constituents.

“I will miss spending time with the people of South Central Kansas as your representative.  Not everyone has agreed with me on everything -- no surprise there. But, truly, nearly everyone has been respectful, thoughtful and committed to the same end: ensuring the greatness of our state and our country.”

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