Trump Urges Pompeo to Run for Senate Election

Republican Leadership Hopes to Draft Pompeo Amid Concerns Over Senate Election Defeat
Trump Also Changes Stance to Allow Candidacy
Pompeo Seems to Have Declined, Saying He Has Other Duties Left

Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo. The U.S. Republican Party hopes for Secretary Pompeo's candidacy, and President Trump is reported to have agreed. Previously, despite the Democratic Party's hope for Minister Kang to run in the general election, she did not run.
[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy New York=Correspondent Baek Jong-min] U.S. President Donald Trump reportedly urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to run for the U.S. Senate, but Pompeo declined, according to the Washington Post (WP) on the 14th (local time).

WP cited sources saying that President Trump met privately with Secretary Pompeo at the White House a few days ago and asked him to reconsider running in the primary election for the Senate seat.

WP reported that President Trump made this recommendation out of concern that the Republican Party might lose its majority status in the Senate. This decision reflects the current reality where the Republican Party's chances of winning both the presidential and Senate elections are clouded due to the recent COVID-19 situation. WP speculated that President Trump and Republican leadership believe Pompeo has a high chance of winning if he runs in his hometown of Kansas. WP also understood that Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate Majority Leader who regularly meets with President Trump, actively requested Pompeo to run.

Currently, the Republican Party holds the majority in the Senate with 53 seats out of 100, surpassing the Democratic Party's 47 seats. The issue is that 35 Senate seats will be contested in the upcoming November election, and among them, 23 seats are currently held by Republicans but are trailing Democrats. Naturally, this deepens the Republican Party's concerns. If the Democrats take control of both the House and the Senate, President Trump's ability to govern effectively would be significantly weakened even if he wins re-election.

This situation is the background behind President Trump's attempt to recruit Secretary Pompeo, who has a high probability of winning. WP explained that McConnell had also requested Pompeo to run back in January, but Pompeo declined. Although President Trump was initially reluctant to have his close aide Pompeo run, the political analysis in Washington suggests that the situation has now changed.

However, Secretary Pompeo prefers to remain in his position as Secretary of State. A government official told WP, "Pompeo feels he has not yet completed his mission and intends to stay in office." It was also explained that since Pompeo has already served six years as a legislator in another region, he is not interested enough to move and run for the Senate.

WP identified Pompeo's designated mission as the Iran nuclear issue. Since Pompeo plays a key role in North Korea denuclearization negotiations as well, his Senate run would be deeply connected to the Korean Peninsula issue.

Secretary Pompeo has also recently taken a leading role in criticizing China. Amid the COVID-19 crisis, as the U.S. emphasizes China's responsibility, Pompeo's role cannot be overlooked. On this day, he issued a statement demanding that China stop efforts to hack and steal U.S. COVID-19 treatments and vaccine development.

Pompeo must register for the primary election by June 1 to run for office. WP added that neither the White House nor the State Department responded to requests for comments regarding Pompeo's potential candidacy.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.