Mike Pompeo, a former congressman and ex-CIA director, was confirmed in April 2018 as secretary of State. | Alex Wong/Getty Images Elections Pompeo discussing a run for Kansas Senate seat His departure would be another blow to the president’s ever-changing Cabinet.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is slated to meet with veteran Republican strategist Ward Baker on Sunday afternoon to discuss a possible 2020 run for the vacant Kansas Senate seat, according to two people familiar with the plans.

Pompeo, a former congressman and ex-CIA director who in April 2018 was confirmed as secretary of State, is considering a Senate bid, though he has yet to make a final decision. Yet party leaders, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, are aggressively wooing him. McConnell (R-Ky.) and Pompeo spoke shortly after Kansas Sen. Pat Roberts announced his retirement.


Pompeo and Baker are expected to talk about what a Senate campaign would entail. Baker has deep political experience, having served as National Republican Senatorial Committee executive director during the 2016 election cycle. During the 2018 midterms, he helped to spearhead Tennessee Republican Marsha Blackburn’s successful Senate bid. He is also close to McConnell.

A Pompeo departure would be a blow to the Trump administration, which has suffered an array of high-profile departures in recent months. In December, Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis resigned after breaking with the president over his decision to withdraw troops from Syria.

Several Cabinet departments — including Interior and Defense — are being run by acting secretaries. Should Pompeo leave, it would create another opening for Trump to fill.

COUNTDOWN TO 2020 The race for 2020 starts now. Stay in the know. Follow our presidential election coverage. Email Sign Up By signing up you agree to receive email newsletters or alerts from POLITICO. You can unsubscribe at any time. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

For Trump, it would also mean the loss of a key loyalist. The president has grown close to Pompeo, and picked him to replace his first secretary of state, Rex Tillerson. Unlike Tillerson, Pompeo has largely kept whatever differences he may have with the president to himself.

Pompeo last week completed an eight-day tour of the Middle East, where he sought to quell international concerns over Trump’s foreign policy.

Yet, Pompeo has long harbored political ambitions: In 2016, he considered a Republican primary bid against Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran but ultimately opted against it. Some in the party speculate that leaving the turbulent administration sooner rather than later could ultimately be a safer play for the former congressman should he choose to seek another office.

Those close to the 55-year-old Pompeo say he’s in no rush to make a final decision. While other Kansas Republicans have expressed interest in the seat, the secretary of state would likely clear the field should he decide to launch a campaign.

Republicans are heavily favored to retain the seat, but party leaders want to take no chances. During the 2018 midterms, Democrats made gains in the traditionally conservative state, capturing the governorship and a congressional seat. But the last Democrat elected to the Senate from Kansas was George McGill, in 1932.

