WASHINGTON, Dec. 16 (Xinhua) -- A senior U.S. lawmaker on Monday urged the State Department to "do better" in the foreign policy sphere amid rumors about Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's exit.
"To America's diplomatic corps, we know that representing the United States requires selecting advisors who are reflective of the diversity of our great nation," said Eliot Engel, chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, in a tweet posted on the committee's official account.
"This is not good enough and @StateDept must do better," the senior congressman, a Democrat, added.
Engel's comments came hours after Pompeo posted on his official Twitter account a photo of him hosting Foreign Affairs Policy Board members for dinner.
"Their feedback and perspectives are critical to the formulation and execution of a foreign policy that best serves the American people's interests," Pompeo said in the tweet.
Pompeo in recent months received fierce criticism from former diplomats for not doing enough to defend State Department employees.
"Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is not the first secretary of state derelict in his duty. But the damage from this assault... will likely prove to be even more severe to both diplomatic tradecraft and U.S. foreign policy," William Burns, a veteran U.S. diplomat, wrote in an article published in Foreign Affairs magazine.
Meanwhile, it has been reported for months that Pompeo is considering stepping down from his current post and running for a Senate seat in the state of Kansas. Over the weekend, the former congressman created a personal Twitter account, spurring renewed talks about his exit.
