In a statement on Friday, the fourth-district Republican said that while he has loved representing Kansans in Congress, the opportunity to lead a top U.S. intelligence agency is a call to service he can’t ignore. Pompeo still must be confirmed by the Senate.
The 52-year-old was elected to Congress during the tea party wave of 2010. Pompeo has been a harsh critic of the Obama administration. He denounced the Iran deal, which granted Tehran sanctions relief for rolling back its nuclear weapons program, and was a member of the congressional committee that blasted Hillary Clinton over the attack on a U.S. diplomatic outpost in Libya.
The transition official says Trump was expected to make the Pompeo announcement on Friday morning, along with his nomination of Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions to be attorney general and his selection of retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn to be national security adviser.
The official wasn’t authorized to disclose the decisions ahead of Trump’s announcement and insisted on anonymity.
Congressman Pompeo offered this statement Friday:
“I am honored and humbled to accept the President-elect’s nomination to lead the Central Intelligence Agency. This was a difficult decision. I have genuinely loved representing the people of Kansas in Congress—working to make our community stronger and more prosperous. But ultimately the opportunity to lead the world’s finest intelligence warriors, who labor tirelessly to keep this nation and Kansas safe, is a call to service I cannot ignore.
I want to thank the people of the 4th District who entrusted me over the past six years to be their voice in our nation’s capital. I will continue to represent you in this new post with the highest level of honesty, integrity, and vision.”