Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has announced that he will not seek the Republican nomination for the 2024 presidential race, ending speculation that he would challenge former President Donald Trump.
Mr. Pompeo said in a statement released on Friday that the timing is not right for him and his family, adding that the decision is “personal.”
“At each stage of my public service – as a soldier, as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and then as Director of the Central Intelligence Agency and as your Secretary of State – I’ve been blessed to have the opportunity to advance America in a way that fits the time and the moment,” he said. “This is not that time or that moment for me to seek elected office again.”
Mr. Pompeo would have been the second former member of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet to challenge him for the nomination. Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley announced her campaign in February.
Despite testing the waters for 2024 and traveling the country, Mr. Pompeo was mired in the low single digits in polls of the GOP race.
Although he has bowed out of the 2024 campaign, Mr. Pompeo has left the door open for a run in the future.
“To those of you this announcement disappoints, my apologies,” he said. “And to those of you this thrills, know that I’m 59 years old. There remain many more opportunities for which the timing might be more fitting as presidential leadership becomes even more necessary.”
Mr. Pompeo served as Secretary of State under Mr. Trump from April 2018 through the end of his term in January 2021, and was known for his confrontational stance on China. Prior to that, he led the CIA for more than a year at the start of Mr. Trump’s term.
A graduate of West Point, Mr. Pompeo attained the rank of captain in the Army. He is also a graduate of Harvard Law School, and represented Kansas in the House for three terms during the Obama administration.
Speculation still looms as to whether former Vice President Mike Pence will enter the race.
Several Republican heavyweights, including Mr. Trump and Mr. Pence, spoke at the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Indianapolis which kicked off on Friday - providing a “who’s who” of potential GOP candidates as the 2024 field takes shape.
Other potential and declared contenders for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, including Ms. Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, are expected to speak.
Mr. Trump set the tone of the event on Friday, vowing that “no one will lay a finger on your firearms” if he is elected in 2024.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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