Pompeo ‘avoiding ruling things out’ on political future
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is not ruling out a future run for office in his home state of Kansas, he said in an interview published Sunday.
“I try to just avoid ruling things out when there’s others who are in control,” Pompeo told the Kansas City Star ahead of a trip to Kansas for a State Department summit on entrepreneurship next week. “The Lord will get me to the right place.”
Although Pompeo has already ruled out running for Senate in 2020, he told the newspaper that, after a series of unexpected events in his life, he tries “to avoid predicting what (he) may do a year, two years, six years from now.”
“I know this much, I’ve seen a lot of the world, and I dearly love the people of Kansas,” Pompeo told the Star.
After Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts announced his retirement in January, Pompeo seriously considered running to fill his seat sources told CNN.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell personally pushed the Secretary of State to run, and Pompeo met with GOP consultant Ward Baker in January.
However, in February, Pompeo officially ruled out vying for the seat saying that he loves his current job in the Trump administration.
Despite opposing Trump in the 2016 Republican primary, Pompeo has emerged as one of President Donald Trump’s closest allies since joining the administration.
“He is the commander in chief,” Pompeo told the Star. “He is the President of the United States. I’m his Secretary of State. I work hard to try and deliver the things he is asking us to do because he got 306 electoral votes and the American people chose him to be the leader.”
Pompeo’s string of domestic trips to Iowa, Kansas and Texas have sparked speculation regarding his political aspirations. Sources told CNN the Secretary of State would like to eventually be Secretary of Defense and President.
The former businessman started his political career in Kansas as the congressman for the state’s 4th District. He received major support in his congressional campaigns from the billionaire Koch family.
He told the Star he hopes to eventually move back to the Kansas where his friends, family and church are located.
