SALT LAKE CITY — Sen.-elect Mitt Romney skewered President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Wednesday for their latest comments on Saudi Arabia and the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, calling them "inconsistent" with U.S. foreign policy.
"The President's and Secretary of State's Khashoggi statements to date are inconsistent with an enduring foreign policy, with our national interest, with basic human rights, and with American greatness," Romney said in a Facebook post.
"Sanctions do not necessarily require ending the alliance; they do demand real and painful consequence."
Trump on Tuesday declared unwavering loyalty to Saudi Arabia and asserted that Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's culpability for the killing of Khashoggi might never be known. The crown prince is a close ally to the White House.
"Our intelligence agencies continue to assess all information, but it could very well be that the Crown Prince had knowledge of this tragic event — maybe he did and maybe he didn't!" Trump said in a statement.
"That being said, we may never know all of the facts surrounding the murder of Mr. Jamal Khashoggi," Trump said. "In any case, our relationship is with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia."
Trump's comments came days after the CIA concluded that the crown prince had authorized the killing of Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist and columnist for the Washington Post.
Romney also took to Twitter to criticize Trump's response after the president indicated Saudi Arabia would not face severe punishment for Khashoggi's death.
"America can't excuse & minimize the brutal & gruesome murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a US resident & columnist. Our country is defined by human values, by principle above convenience, & by commitment to morality. We must subject the perpetrators of this outrage to withering sanction," Romney tweeted.
In his statement, Trump said the U.S. has already sanctioned 17 Saudis known to have been involved in the murder of Khashoggi and disposal of his body.
Responding to questions about Khashoggi's killing and diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia in a briefing with reporters Tuesday, Pompeo said "it's a mean, nasty world out there, the Middle East in particular."
Pompeo said the U.S.-Saudi Arabia relationship "is a long, historic commitment and one that is absolutely vital to America's national security."
Romney said during his Senate campaign that while he largely agrees with the Trump agenda, he would call out the president when he believes he is wrong.
Romney, who might be eying a seat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, also blasted Trump after his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin earlier this year. He called Trump's decision to side with Putin over American intelligence regarding interference in the 2016 election "disgraceful and detrimental to our democratic principles."