KEEP IT IN THE FAMILY

Mike Pompeo Is Now on the Fox News Payroll—Because of Course

The former secretary of state joins the list of ex-Trump officials and family members to hop onto Fox’s contributor roster.

Yet another member of Team Trump has joined Fox News.

The conservative cable network announced Thursday that it has signed ex-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as a paid on-air contributor. Pompeo is scheduled to make his first appearance as a network employee on Friday’s broadcast of Fox & Friends.

“Mike Pompeo is one of America’s most recognized and respected voices on foreign policy and national security issues. I look forward to his contributions across our range of platforms to share his distinct perspective with our millions of viewers,” Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott said in a press release.

“As a now former diplomat and member of Congress, and in this new role at FOX News Media, I intend to give viewers a candid, no-nonsense look at geopolitics, international relations and the America First policies that helped chart the course for unprecedented American prosperity and security,” Pompeo added.

The move comes on the heels of Fox News hiring a slew of former Trump administration officials, family members, and campaign staff.

In recent weeks, the network has brought on former White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany and ex-chief economic adviser Larry Kudlow, both of whom now host daytime programs on Fox News and Fox Business, respectively. The network has also hired Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law and one-time campaign adviser, as a paid contributor.

Much like Lara Trump, who has openly floated a Senate run in North Carolina, Pompeo has also hinted at electoral ambitions. His name has been bandied about as a potential 2024 presidential candidate and he has recently laid such groundwork in Iowa, one of the GOP’s first primary states.

If Pompeo or Trump do indeed decide to officially announce a run for office, precedent states that Fox News would terminate their contract. The network recently cut ties with former White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders, another former Trump official, after she jumped into the Arkansas governor’s race; and they have done the same thing in the past with contributors Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich.

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Justin BaragonaSenior Media Reporter

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