Advertisement

Pompeo rules out running for open Senate seat in Kansas next year

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo speaks to the media at the conclusion of a conference on the Middle East in Warsaw on Feb. 14.
(Sean Gallup / Getty Images)
Share
Washington Post

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo on Thursday ruled out the prospect of running for an open Senate seat next year in Kansas, rejecting overtures by leading Republicans that would have caused President Trump to lose one of his favorite Cabinet members.

“It’s ruled out. I’m here. I’m loving it,” Pompeo said on NBC’s “Today” show, where he appeared to discuss Trump’s summit next week with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un among other foreign policy issues.

“I’m going to be the secretary of State as long as President Trump gives me the opportunity to serve as America’s senior diplomat,” said Pompeo, who has risen through the ranks in Washington from a congressman representing a Kansas district to CIA director and now the head of the State Department.

Advertisement

The Washington Post reported last month that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) personally courted Pompeo to consider running, according to two people familiar with the conversation. Pompeo later confirmed the discussion.

GOP leaders immediately started eyeing Pompeo after Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) announced in January that he would not seek another term, opening a seat held by Republicans for nearly a century. Kansas is a traditionally Republican state, but voters there elected a Democratic governor last year, and several female Republican state lawmakers have recently switched parties.

During an interview with CBS’ “Face The Nation” that aired ahead of the Super Bowl this month, Trump said Pompeo told him he was not leaving his current position and expressed confidence that he would not leave to pursue a Senate seat in Kansas.

“I asked him the question the other day. He says he’s absolutely not leaving. I don’t think he’d do that. And he doesn’t want to be lame duck,” Trump said.

John Wagner writes for the Washington Post.

Advertisement