Kansas' Pompeo could swing Senate race, but will he run?

Many attending U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's college lecture Friday in his home state of Kansas will be listening for clues about whether he might run for the Senate next year, though it could be many months before anyone finds out.

Three Democrats and four Republicans are already actively running for the seat held by Republican Sen. Pat Roberts, who isn't seeking a fifth term, and several others are expected to join them. Weeks after Pompeo said a run is "off the table," though, he is still creating a buzz and looming over the race, as only he has enough name recognition and support among Kansas conservatives to afford to wait until next June's filing deadline to decide.

If he does run, Pompeo would enter the race as the favorite.

"It's the Pompeo decision, and then everything else trickles down," said Joe Kildea, a vice president for the conservative interest group Club for Growth.

Other candidates don't have the luxury of waiting and the field is likely to grow even bigger, with GOP Rep. Roger Marshall of western Kansas expected to announce his candidacy Saturday at the state fair.

Pompeo isn't expected to directly address the speculation about his interest in running during his speech Friday at Kansas State University, but that hasn't stopped others from suggesting he's the person for the job. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell identified Pompeo as his preferred candidate shortly after Roberts announced in January that he wasn't seeking re-election.

The GOP hasn't lost a Senate race in Kansas since 1932, but many Republicans worry about a repeat of the governor's race last year. Kris Kobach, a nationally known advocate of tough immigration policies, narrowly won a crowded primary, alienated moderates and lost to Democrat Laura Kelly. He launched his Senate campaign in July.

For Kobach's GOP detractors, Pompeo would solve their perceived problems. His entry would likely clear most of the Republican field, and GOP leaders believe Pompeo would have no trouble winning in November 2020, making it easier for Republicans to retain their Senate majority.

And WDAF-TV reports that Kansas' other senator, Republican Jerry Moran, told reporters Wednesday at a Kansas City-area event that he doesn't know Pompeo's current thinking, "but I wouldn't be surprised if he entered that race."

Fellow Republicans concede that Pompeo, a former congressman and CIA director, has reasons not to run, including the prestige that comes with being the nation's top diplomat. He's currently dealing with weighty issues such as new sanctions on Iran from the Trump administration, a tariff war with China and questions about whether hopes for nuclear talks with North Korea are fading.

"I think he can't say that he's wanting to run for Senate now," said Tim Shallenburger, a former two-term state treasurer and Kansas Republican Party chairman. "He's got to wait, and I think he can afford to wait."

Kobach, who served as Kansas' secretary of state but first built his national profile on immigration issues, has argued that as a Senate nominee, he'd benefit from the higher turnout that normally comes with a presidential election year and a greater focus on issues such as immigration. Some local Republican leaders agree and feel less anxious about Kobach possibly winning the nomination.

Other GOP candidates include Kansas Senate President Susan Wagle, Dave Lindstrom, a Kansas City-area businessman and former Kansas City Chiefs player, and Bryan Pruitt, a conservative gay commentator. Also, Marshall has been flirting with running for months, and other potential Republican candidates include Alan Cobb, president and CEO of the Kansas Chamber of Commerce, and Matt Schlapp, the American Conservative Union's president.

The Democratic candidates with active campaigns are former federal prosecutor Barry Grissom, and former Rep. Nancy Boyda and Usha Reddi, a city commissioner in the northeast Kansas city of Manhattan.

Don Alexander, a manufacturing firm owner who is the GOP chairman in Neosho County in southeastern Kansas, said it's early to be trying to size up the race, almost 11 months before the August 2020 primary. He said he and other Republicans trust Pompeo to "know where he's needed most."

"I'm sure the president doesn't want him to leave," said Helen Van Etten, a Republican National Committee member from Topeka.

But Van Etten said comments from Pompeo that he'll stay on as secretary of state as long as Trump will have him leave an "open door" for a Senate bid.

Some Republicans, such as Alexander, take Pompeo at his word that he won't run. Others, including Shallenburger, read Pompeo's statements as meaning he isn't interested right now but that he may reconsider if he doesn't like how the race develops.

"He can announce on the filing deadline and cause most of the people in there to get out," Shallenburger said.

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Biden administration has told key lawmakers it would send more than $1 billion in additional arms and ammunition to Israel, three congressional aides said Tuesday. But it was not immediately known how soon the weapons would be delivered.

It's the first arms shipment to Israel to be revealed since the administration put another arms transfer, consisting of 3,500 bombs of up to 2,000 pounds each, on hold this month. The Biden administration, citing concern for civilian casualties in Gaza, has said it paused that bomb transfer to keep Israel from using those particular munitions in its offensive in the crowded southern Gaza city of Rafah.

The package disclosed Tuesday includes about $700 million for tank ammunition, $500 million in tactical vehicles and $60 million in mortar rounds, the congressional aides said. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss an arms transfer that has not yet been made public.

There was no immediate indication when the arms would be sent. Two congressional aides said the shipment is not part of the long-delayed foreign aid package that Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed last month. It wasn’t known if the shipment was the latest tranche from an existing arms sale or something new.

The Biden administration has come under criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over its military support for Israel's now seven-month-old war against Hamas in Gaza — at a time when Biden is battling for reelection against former President Donald Trump.

Some of Biden's fellow Democrats have pushed him to limit transfers of offensive weapons to Israel to pressure the U.S. ally to do more to protect Palestinian civilians. Protests on college campuses around the U.S. have driven home the message this spring.

Republican lawmakers have seized on the administration's pause on the bomb transfers, saying any lessening of U.S. support for Israel — its closest ally in the Middle East — weakens that country as it fights Hamas and other Iran-backed groups. In the House, they are planning to advance a bill this week to mandate the delivery of offensive weaponry for Israel.

Despite the onetime suspension of a bomb shipment, Biden and administration officials have made clear they will continue other weapons deliveries and overall military support to Israel, which is the largest recipient of U.S. military aid.

Biden will see to it that “Israel has all of the military means it needs to defend itself against all of its enemies, including Hamas,” national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters Monday. “For him, this is very straightforward: He’s going to continue to provide Israel with all of capabilities it needs, but he does not want certain categories of American weapons used in a particular type of operation in a particular place. And again, he has been clear and consistent with that.”

The Wall Street Journal first reported the plans for the $1 billion weapons package to Israel.

In response to House Republicans' plan to move forward with a bill to mandate the delivery of offensive weapons for Israel, the White House said Tuesday that Biden would veto the bill if it were to pass Congress.

The bill has practically no chance in the Democratic-controlled Senate. But House Democrats are somewhat divided on the issue, and roughly two dozen have signed onto a letter to the Biden administration saying they were “deeply concerned about the message” sent by pausing the bomb shipment.

One of the letter’s signers, New York Rep. Ritchie Torres, said he would likely vote for the bill, despite the White House’s opposition.

“I have a general rule of supporting pro-Israel legislation unless it includes a poison pill — like cuts to domestic policy,” he said.

In addition to the written veto threat, the White House has been in touch with various lawmakers and congressional aides about the legislation, according to an administration official.

“We strongly, strongly oppose attempts to constrain the President’s ability to deploy U.S. security assistance consistent with U.S. foreign policy and national security objectives,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this week, adding that the administration plans to spend “every last cent” appropriated by Congress in the national security supplemental package that was signed into law by Biden last month.

Associated Press writers Stephen Groves, Lisa Mascaro and Aamer Madhani contributed.

President Joe Biden arrives to speak in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, announcing plans to impose major new tariffs on electric vehicles, semiconductors, solar equipment and medical supplies imported from China. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

President Joe Biden speaks at the Asian Pacific American Institute for Congressional Studies' 30th annual gala, Tuesday, May 14, 2024, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)