WASHINGTON — Texas Sen. John Cornyn said Thursday that he would "be happy to see" President Donald Trump consider a pardon for retired Army Gen. David Petraeus, the former CIA director who pleaded guilty in 2015 to mishandling classified material.

"What I respect about General Petraeus is he admitted it candidly and publicly, and took responsibility for it," Cornyn said in an interview with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. "You don't see that much in Washington."

[To listen to Cornyn's interview on the Hugh Hewitt Show, please click here.]

Presidential pardons have emerged as a hot item in the Trump era.

The president of late has signed off on a flurry of high-profile pardons and commutations, including reprieves for conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza; boxing legend Jack Johnson; and Alice Johnson, a drug offender whose cause was raised by Kim Kardashian West.

Trump, who has broad powers in that area, also has floated the idea of pardoning lifestyle mogul Martha Stewart and disgraced former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

In this 2007 file photo, Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, holds up a copy of an ad paid for by MoveOn.org during a hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee with Gen. David Petraeus. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

It's unclear if Trump has looked at the case for pardoning Petraeus, who resigned as CIA director in 2012 after it was revealed that he had shared classified information with his biographer, who was also his lover.

At Hewitt's prodding Thursday, Cornyn agreed that Petraeus should be "high on that list" of potential Trump pardons.

"General Petraeus is an incredible patriot, and helped guide our country during a very difficult time in Iraq and basically pulled a rabbit out of a hat there," he said, referring to Petraeus' decorated military career. "But he made a terrible mistake."

Cornyn also confirmed that he would continue to serve on the Senate GOP's leadership team even after he's forced out of his current No. 2 slot next year due to term limits.

The Hill reported that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell had asked his top deputy to "stay at the leadership table" by way of an unelected position. The GOP boss told The Hill that he had not decided on a formal title for Cornyn, but that the Texan would be involved in big decisions.

Cornyn, in a call with Texas reporters, said he had accepted McConnell's invitation.

"Although I won't be part of the elected leadership at that time, I hope I'll continue to be able to contribute," he said.

The Texan reiterated that he would be "interested in pursuing" the top spot in Senate GOP leadership whenever McConnell decides to step down. He added that "there's no timetable there" and that "we'll see how that all works out."

Starting next year, Cornyn said, he will simply be a "United States senator from Texas."

"Which is a pretty sweet gig," he said.