Mike Pompeo may resign in order to run for Senate - report

Pompeo had planned to stay on as secretary of state until next spring, said three Republicans, but developments such as the House impeachment inquiry have strained his relationship with Trump.

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF, HERB KEINON
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels (photo credit: YVES HERMAN/REUTERS)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attends a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels
(photo credit: YVES HERMAN/REUTERS)
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has informed members of the Republican Party that he plans on resigning from his position in order to run for the US Senate from Kansas in next year’s elections, according to Time magazine.
Pompeo had planned to stay on as secretary of state until next spring, said three Republicans, but developments such as the House impeachment inquiry have strained his relationship with President Donald Trump and complicated his political image, prompting him to rethink his exit.
Pompeo is also said to have his eyes on the presidency in 2024.
The three Republicans who talked with Time include one who served in the Trump administration, another who is currently in government, and another who served in several high-ranking positions and is still active in GOP politics.
According to the three, Pompeo is now trying to find the smoothest possible exit from the Trump administration.
It is unclear if Pompeo has discussed his plans with Trump. The secretary of state has repeatedly said he does not intend to run for Senate, and Pompeo aides have in the past denied that he was planning to step down.
“Secretary Pompeo is only focused on executing Trump’s foreign policy goals and completing the mission for the American people at the State Department. Anyone who says otherwise is just wrong,” said a person close to Pompeo to Time.
The impeachment hearings have placed Pompeo in a position where staying leaves him open to criticism for failing to protect diplomats and US policies against the politicization of foreign affairs, and open to blame from Trump and his supporters for insufficiently defending the president.
One of the Republican sources have also led Pompeo to reconsider whether sticking with Trump would help or harm a possible Senate candidacy.
In October, Trump criticized Pompeo for making “a mistake” by hiring Bill Taylor, a Foreign Service officer who was an executive vice president at the US Institute for Peace. Taylor was chosen as the US ambassador to Ukraine after former ambassador Marie Yovanovitch was recalled due to what she called a smear campaign by Trump’s attorney Rudy Giuliani.
A Kansas Republican told Time that Pompeo can no longer be considered a shoo-in against the multiple other Republican contenders who have already stepped up to the plate. Pain inflicted on farmers by Trump’s trade policies could threaten Republican support next year.
“Our farmers aren’t dumb,” said the Kansas Republican. “They know that China isn’t paying for tariffs. They are, because they’re taxpayers helping foot the bill for government subsidies. They also aren’t holding their breath waiting for some big trade deal that has the Chinese buying all their crops.
“If Pompeo was thinking he would cruise across the finish line on Trump’s coattails, he might want to rethink that assumption,” said the Kansas statesman.
On Monday, Pompeo announced that the Trump administration does not view Israeli settlements in the West Bank as illegal.
A possible Senate run by Pompeo was dangled by some pundits as the reason for the timing of Monday’s announcement.
According to his reasoning, Pompeo is looking to shore up his credentials with Evangelicals in Kansas before running for the Senate in an already crowded race there. Many Evangelicals strongly support Israel’s presence in Judea and Samaria as a fulfillment of biblical prophecy.
Pompeo himself dismissed notions that the settlement declaration had anything to do with domestic politics.
“The timing of this was not tied to anything that had to do with domestic politics anywhere,” he declared.
The Time report did not indicate who might replace Pompeo as secretary of state if he resigns.
Yaakov Katz and Douglas Bloomfield contributed to this report.