I ‘ruled out’ 2020 Senate bid

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MikePompeo, director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), center, arrives ahead of a State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2018.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo says he has “ruled out” running for a U.S. Senate seat in his home state of Kansas.

After weeks of speculation, the Republican former congressman told NBC’s “TODAY” on Thursday that he is happy to keep serving in his current role as long as President Donald Trump wants him there.

“It’s ruled out,” he said about a possible run for the Senate seat, currently held by fellow Republican Pat Roberts, 82, who won’t seek another term. “I’m here, I’m loving it.”

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had urged Pompeo to consider a Senate run in 2020. Earlier this month, McConnell told Fox News that he wanted Pompeo “to know that we’d all be behind him” if he opted to launch a campaign — although he added that “there’s no urgency for him to make that decision.”

While Kansas is typically a red state, there are worrisome signs for Republicans. In November, Democrat Laura Kelly beat GOP Trump ally Kris Kobach in the governor’s race. Kobach is reportedly considering a campaign to replace Roberts in 2020, which was one of the concerns said to be driving the recruitment of Pompeo.

Trump himself was confident that Pompeo wouldn’t leave his administration to run for Senate. He told CBS’ “Face the Nation” earlier this year that Pompeo told him “he’s absolutely not leaving.”

The GOP holds a 53-47 advantage in the Senate, but Republicans will have to defend 22 seats in next year’s election, while Democrats will be trying to hold on to a dozen.

Pompeo left Congress to join the Trump administration first as CIA director. Last year, he replaced Rex Tillerson as secretary of State after Trump fired the former Exxon Mobile CEO.

As the nation’s top diplomat, Pompeo is a major player in Trump’s surprisingly friendly diplomatic outreach to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un as the U.S. seeks the communist dictatorship’s denuclearization.

Trump is scheduled to hold his second summit with Kim next week in Vietnam.

CNBC’s
Jacob Pramuk
contributed to this article.