Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich confirmed on Thursday that he is not seeking a Cabinet-level post in the next administration, dispelling rumors that he was being considered to lead the Pentagon or State Department.

"I will not be in the Cabinet," Gingrich, a steadfast supporter of President-elect Trump, told McClatchy.

Instead, Gingrich said he intends to assist the Trump administration as a private citizen. He will focus on "strategic planning" and working to expand "the GOP victories nationwide ahead of the coming 2018 mid-term elections."

"Which is exactly what I did under the Bush administration," he noted.

The former House speaker, who spent two decades in Congress, was a finalist for the Republican vice presidential slot in July and has been floated as a potential Cabinet pick following Trump's election victory.

"I think that's Trump's loss, but I think [Gingrich] is very good at where he's most effective," former Rep. Nancy Johnson, R-Conn, said of Gingrich's decision. Johnson chaired the House Ethics Committee that reprimanded Gingrich for ethics violations in the late 1990s.