Within the State Department, in conversations with nearly a dozen staff, the word that repeatedly came to people's lips as they described their colleagues wasn't "swamp."
Next week, an old army friend of Pompeo's, State Department Counselor Ulrich Brechbuhl, is slated to testify -- though he has ignored a previous request to appear voluntarily.
'Fixated'In April -- one year into his tenure as secretary of state -- Pompeo unveiled a "professional ethos" for the State Department.
They spoke on condition of anonymity because they still deal with the State Department.
"It's a source of power for him," Anderson said, "but this has come at the expense of his reputation inside the State Department."