Mike Pompeo confirms he's interested in presidential run

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is open to running for president after his boss leaves office, the top U.S. diplomat confirmed.

“America has given me an awful lot,” Pompeo said Monday in Washington. “And if I thought I could do a good turn, there's nothing I wouldn't consider doing for America.”

Pompeo’s future has become a topic of keen interest for political insiders in recent months. A former House backbencher from Kansas, his tenure in President Trump’s administration — first as CIA director, now as secretary of state — has made him one of the most visible American leaders in the world.

“The service that I've had the chance to do, I'm almost 20 years now in federal service, 18 years of federal service of my time in the Army, in Congress, and now in the executive branch,” he told the Economic Club. “I hope I have left things a little bit better, and I do feel an obligation.”

Pompeo ruled out serving by running for the Senate next year to replace retiring Kansas Republican Pat Roberts, though. “It's off the table,” he said.