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Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Personally asked Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to consider running for a seat in the Senate, Kansas, according to people close to the effort, which could irritate President Trump and more
GOP Senate leaders were so dedicated to recruiting Pompeo that McConnell directly asked him to take it into account during a recent phone call , according to two people close to the conversation, who has never been reported before. [19659003] By the time Senator Pat Roberts (R-Kan.) Announced this month that he was retiring, the GOP leaders were reviewing Pompeo. In the hours following Roberts' announcement, their allies were chatting with Pompeo.
But Trump does not want to lose Pompeo and sees him as his favorite cabinet member, according to two people close to his thinking. It is unclear when he was aware of the conversation between McConnell and Pompeo. A representative of the White House did not immediately react Thursday night to a request for comment.
Pompeo, who rose through the Washington ranks of deputy director of the CIA and who now heads the state department, has not publicly excluded a candidate.
"The Pompeo secretary is determined to serve the president and ensure the safety of Americans as a secretary of state," said Pompeo spokesman Robert Palladino in a statement released Thursday.
President Donald J. Trump, accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and Secretary of Defense James Mattis, at a White House Cabinet meeting on June 21, 2018. ( Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post)
In private, Pompeo left the door open, according to his associates, but his attention
The people who described the conversation between McConnell and Pompeo and the thought of the president spoke under the covered by anonymity. discuss private discussions. McConnell could not be contacted for a comment on Thursday night.
Moving from a coveted position to the Cabinet to claim a place as a junior member of the Senate would be an unorthodox move – and one of the most Republicans remains skeptical, Pompeo will end up being skeptical make .
But considering all the meanders of the Trump presidency, some Republicans close to McConnell and Pompeo are far from ready to close the book on this idea
. The contact with Pompeo foresaw a situation in which Pompeo might want to "be parachuted if things went wrong". The person spoke under the pretext of keeping the anonymity to be honest.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) Urged Confirmation The candidacy of President Trump to Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in April 2018. (J. Scott Applewhite / AP )
Democrats control the House, giving them the power to issue subpoenas and hold hearings on the Trump administration. Meanwhile, special advocate Robert S. Mueller III has not completed his investigation into Russia's interference in the election of 2016.
"There is no reason why. did not close the door, "said one of the people familiar with the phone call, speaking of Pompeo's posture. on an application to the Senate.
From McConnell's point of view and from other Republican leaders of the Senate, Pompeo's appeal is clear. He gives them a high-level recruit who can handle a potentially expensive and divisive primary for a must-have GOP seat in a ruby-red state.
Given his stature, his political roots in Kansas and his ties with Trump, Pompeo would be strongly favored to win if he participated in the race. He served in the House of Commons for six years before Trump appointed him to head the CIA. Shortly after Rex Tillerson's departure from his position as Secretary of State, Pompeo obtained confirmation by the Senate to fill this position.
Regarding the recruitment and recruitment of staff, Trump and McConnell have not always been in agreement. For example, during Trump's presidential transition, McConnell wanted to recruit Ryan Zinke, a congressman from Montana, to challenge Democratic Senator Jon Tester. But Trump designated him to be his secretary on the inside.
Test was re-elected last fall, thus avoiding the fate of four of his fellow Democrats lost in red or purple states.
The Democrats did not win a seat in the Senate. Kansas since 1932. But the state elected a Democratic governor in 2018 and several Republican lawmakers changed party in frustration with Trump and the state of the GOP.
Republicans defend 22 seats in the Senate in 2020, compared to only 12. for the Democrats. Although Kansas is not considered an ideal opportunity for Democrats, it could prove fertile ground for a complex intraparty battle that could lead to uncertainty in general elections.
The former secretary of Kansas appeared as a possible. from the state Kris Kobach, a Trump ally who was defeated in the race to governor last year; Representative Roger Marshall; former governor Jeff Colyer, whom Kobach defeated in the government's primary; and the president of the Union of American Conservatives, Matt Schlapp.
McConnell, a savvy political strategist focused on maintaining or even expanding the Senate's majority of 53 GOP seats, is to be re-elected himself in 2020. He is running for a seventh term in a state. elected by Trump comfortably and where he would be strongly favored again in 2020.
McConnell and Trump have had a roller coaster relationship over the past two years. That went wrong after the failure of the Republican attempt to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act. But things have improved after the GOP's adoption of a tax bill.
Tensions erupted between Pompeo and the Senate Republicans in 2016 when Pompeo fueled debate over a major challenge by criticizing Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.). be more cordial now. McConnell called Pompeo "brilliant and hard – headed leader" when Trump named him. Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Assistant Secretary of Legislative Affairs, Department of State, is a former McConnell Assistant.
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