White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short urged former Secretary of State John Kerry Tuesday morning to leave foreign policy to the current administration.
“I think John Kerry’s tenure of secretary of state proved to be disastrous for peace across the globe. He said the chemical weapons in Syria were removed,” Short said on Fox News, elaborating on a Tuesday tweet from the president. “That wasn’t the case. We need to move on from his tenure and glad Mike Pompeo is secretary of state today.”
Kerry reportedly has engaged in private meetings with Iranian foreign minister Javad Zarif to discuss the future of the nuclear deal. The former secretary of state’s conduct has come under scrutiny for possibly violating the Logan Act, which prohibits private citizens from negotiating with foreign governments in dispute with the U.S.
Trump expressly urged Kerry to halt any possible negotiations he might be having:
John Kerry can’t get over the fact that he had his chance and blew it! Stay away from negotiations John, you are hurting your country!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 8, 2018