President Donald Trump tweet-sacked Rex Tillerson on March 13th; America has since lacked a Secretary of State (John Sullivan, Mr Tillerson’s deputy, has been doing the job temporarily). That may change this week. Last week Heidi Heitkamp, a Democratic senator from North Dakota, announced she would vote to confirm Mike Pompeo, Mr Trump’s nominee, who currently heads the CIA. Her approval may clear a path for other red-state Democrats to do the same. Mr Pompeo’s confirmation looked shaky after Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, announced his opposition over fears that Mr Pompeo would push an interventionist foreign policy. But a Democrat or two crossing party lines should be enough to push him over. Before full-Senate approval, however, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, on which Mr Paul sits, will vote tonight. Assuming Mr Paul joins the committee’s ten Democrats in voting no, Mr Pompeo would become the first-ever nominee whom the committee fails to recommend.