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US Secretary of State Pompeo Could Run for Senate Next Year - Reports

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo is considering a bid for a Kansas Senate seat that will become vacant, as current Senator Pat Robertson has announced that he will retire once his term is up, the media outlet Politico reported on Sunday, citing sources.
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Pompeo has reportedly not made any decisions on this matter, however, Republicans in the Senate are actively persuading him to anounce his candidacy.

Pompeo, a former Kansas congressman (2011-2017) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director, was approved as US Secretary of State in April of last year. Unlike his predecessor Rex Tillerson, Pompeo reportedly has a good relationship with Donald Trump and generally adheres to the president’s foreign policy line. 

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Secretaries of state resign in the United States after the first term of the US president, even if the head of state is re-elected for a second term. This is not a tradition nor a duty of the Secretary of State to step down, however, over the past 40 years, only two secretaries of state, Henry Kissinger and George Shultz, have served for two consecutive presidential terms.

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Michael Pompeo was born in the city of Orange, California, on 30 December 30 1963. In 1986, Pompeo graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point. From 1986-1991, the politician served in the US army: first, as an Armor Branch Officer in the German city of Berlin, then in the 4th Infantry Division in the Gulf War.

After his service in the army, Pompeo entered Harvard Law School. Pompeo combined his studies with work at the university's law journal.

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After graduating in 1994, he was employed by the law firm Williams & Connolly and worked in Washington. In 1996, Pompeo became a co-founder of the Thayer Aerospace firm, the share in which he sold 10 years later. Having sold his interest, Pompeo took charge of the oil field equipment company Sentry International.

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