FILE - In this April 12, 2018, file photo Mike Pompeo smiles after his introduction before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation for him to become the next Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
FILE - In this April 12, 2018, file photo Mike Pompeo smiles after his introduction before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during a confirmation for him to become the next Secretary of State on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) Credit: Jacquelyn Martin

Washington — Mike Pompeo took over as America’s top diplomat on Thursday after being confirmed by the Senate and sworn in across the street minutes later. The new secretary of state immediately dashed off to Europe in an energetic start befitting the high-stakes issues awaiting him from Iran to North Korea.

The hard-charging former CIA director was confirmed on a 57-42 vote — one of the slimmest margins for the job in recent history. Every past nominee to get a roll call vote since at least the Carter administration received 85 or more yes votes in the Senate, with the exception of Trump’s first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who got 56.

He was sworn in at the Supreme Court by Justice Samuel Alito, a fellow Italian-American, who said he was “proud” to officiate for the occasion. Pompeo, in a statement relayed by the State Department, said he was “delighted” to serve as America’s top diplomat.