Pompeo cancels last diplomatic trip after European authorities snubbed him

WASHINGTON – Secretary of State Mike Pompeo abruptly canceled a trip to Europe during his last week in office as the country’s top diplomat.

The cancellation came after several European officials refused to meet Pompeo, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The European authorities’ contempt comes a week after thousands of supporters of President Donald Trump invaded the United States Capitol, sending shock waves around the world.

Pompeo, on his latest diplomatic mission, was scheduled to travel to Belgium on Wednesday to meet with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Sophie Wilmes. Stoltenberg and Wilmes, along with a number of world leaders, publicly described the deadly turmoil on the United States Capitol as “shocking”.

The trip later this week also included a stop in Luxembourg, according to Reuters.

The State Department did not immediately respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision to cancel the trip was made in order to continue working with President-elect Joe Biden’s team in a “smooth and orderly transition process”.

“We are fully committed to completing a smooth and orderly transition process to be completed in the next 8 days. Both the Department and the President-elect team have been fully engaged for several weeks to this end, and we are satisfied with the level of cooperation and demonstrated professionalism “, wrote Ortagus.

Antony Blinken, chosen by Biden to lead the State Department, is expected to provide Pompeo’s team with a list of career officials who will temporarily remain in interim positions until the Senate confirmation process is completed.

Last week, Pompeo confirmed in a tweet that he met with Blinken and called the meeting “very productive”.

It was not clear whether the two discussed the deadly riot at the United States Capitol, which occurred just two days earlier.