Could Brownback, Kobach join Trump’s administration?

Could two of Kansas’ top officials be headed to Washington as part of President-elect Donald Trump’s administration?

Gov. Sam Brownback originally backed Florida Sen. Marco Rubio in the presidential race, but endorsed Trump after he won the nomination. Brownback went on to serve on Trump’s Catholic and agricultural advisory committees.

“Maybe Brownback is polishing his resume,” Russell Fox, a political scientist at Friends University, said Wednesday morning. “I could imagine Brownback making a play for secretary of Agriculture.”

Politico, the Washington-based news site, reported Tuesday night that Brownback would be in the running to serve as Trump’s agriculture secretary along with several other current and former GOP governors. Brownback was Kansas’ secretary of agriculture before being elected to Congress in 1994.

Brownback’s spokeswoman, Eileen Hawley, said the governor “is focused on governing Kansas.”

Secretary of State Kris Kobach also appears to be a potential candidate for a job in the Trump administration. Kobach served as an adviser on immigration policy throughout the campaign and previously was counsel for U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft during the Bush administration.

Kobach did not immediately return phone calls Wednesday. In an interview on Election Day, Kobach said that he would feel vindicated by a Trump victory in the presidential race.

This story was originally published November 9, 2016 at 12:38 PM with the headline "Could Brownback, Kobach join Trump’s administration?."