Pompeo: Running for Senate ‘not something I want to do’

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday would not definitively rule out a Senate run in his home state of Kansas but said it’s “not something that I want to do.”

“I’ve watched my life take turns that one would never have expected, but it’s not something I want to do,” Pompeo said on “Fox & Friends.”

“I want to stay here and continue to perform the mission that I’m serving President Trump and I hope doing a good turn for the American people as well,” he added.

Pompeo spoke warmly of Kansas, calling it “home” before adding that “it’s my intention to stay here and continue to serve as President Trump’s secretary of State.”

Pompeo’s future has the been the subject of intense speculation in recent months after Sen. Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) announced he would not seek reelection. Pompeo previously served as a congressman from the state before joining the president’s Cabinet in early 2017.

Pompeo is seen as the likely front-runner for the GOP nomination should he opt to run for Senate.

The secretary of State and former CIA director has been one of Trump’s closest advisers and has managed to largely remain in the president’s good graces while others have fallen out of favor.

However, sources close to the State Department told The Hill last month they believed Pompeo’s relationship with Trump has been strained by the Ukraine scandal, which led to the president being impeached.

Trump has said he doesn’t believe Pompeo would leave his post in the administration unless it appeared Republicans were at risk of losing the Senate seat.