Pompeo aggressive, tenacious, smart and humble, Kansas politicians say

Friends and former rivals in Kansas applauded U.S. Rep. Mike Pompeo’s selection as director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Friday.

State Sen. Forrest Knox, an Altoona Republican, sent a text message to Pompeo as soon as he heard the Wichita Republican had been tapped by President-elect Donald Trump to head the CIA.

Knox, whose district overlaps with Pompeo’s congressional district, told Pompeo he was praying for him.

“His response to me was: ‘I need your prayers now more than ever,’” Knox said.

Knox said he’s been impressed by how accessible Pompeo has made himself during his time in Congress. “Not everybody’s that way,” he said. He called Pompeo humble.

But the Republican congressman has a hard-charging personality, too.

Pompeo, first elected to the U.S. House in 2010, has distinguished himself in both Wichita and Washington, D.C., as someone who is not afraid of conflict.

“He’s an aggressive guy,” said state Sen. Michael O’Donnell, a Wichita Republican.

O’Donnell applauded Pompeo’s selection, but acknowledged that they have a history of tension, at least in part because O’Donnell works for Wink Hartman, Pompeo’s opponent in the 2010 Republican primary.

“In politics, when you have bold personalities, sometimes they clash,” said O’Donnell, who said in 2012 that he was asked to stay away from a Republican celebration rally sponsored by Pompeo after conservative victories at the Statehouse. “Congressman Pompeo politically has, you know, come in conflict with myself and other electeds … but we all know where he’s coming from. And that tenacity is going to serve him very well in his role as CIA director.”

Hartman, an oil magnate who helped fund former U.S. Rep. Todd Tiahrt’s primary challenge against Pompeo in 2014, said he thinks Pompeo is perfectly suited for the role of CIA director.

“I really believe he’ll do an excellent job. I really do,” Hartman said. “Yes, we’ve butted heads, but I’m excited for him and I’m excited for our country.”

Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, a Republican who has known Pompeo for many years, called the congressman “extraordinarily capable” and praised his work on the special committee that investigated the 2012 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Pompeo ended up co-authoring a separate report from the main committee investigation, which accused former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic nominee for president, of downplaying the attack to boost President Obama’s re-election efforts.

“Congressman Pompeo is a smart and tenacious student of foreign policy,” Schmidt said.

“Obviously, his leadership on the Benghazi committee was very important in making sure the story was both accurately uncovered and told. And I have every reason to believe he’ll be an exceptional director for the CIA.”

State Rep. Jim Ward, a Democrat from Wichita, on the other hand, raised concerns about Pompeo’s selection.

“If you listen to Mike’s paranoia about things like the Iran diplomatic initiative or Benghazi, he tends to have that conspiratorial mind, which is not healthy for a person who runs the CIA,” Ward said.

Gov. Sam Brownback had nothing but praise for the nomination. “I think it’s fantastic,” he said. “Mike is smart. He’s tough. He will do an awesome job. It’s a great honor to have a Kansan nominated or put forward for a position like that. And I think that’s a wonderful pick by the incoming Trump administration.”

This story was originally published November 18, 2016 at 4:42 PM with the headline "Pompeo aggressive, tenacious, smart and humble, Kansas politicians say."