Pompeo's first post-Trump Wichita visit is a closed-door, anti-abortion fundraiser

Wichita Eagle (KS)

May 5—WICHITA — Mike Pompeo's first appearance in front of a hometown crowd since his time in the Trump administration is a closed-door, anti-abortion fundraiser.

Pompeo is scheduled to accept an award Wednesday night in downtown Wichita at a sold-out fundraiser for Kansans for Life, one of the state's most influential conservative groups and Kansas' leading anti-abortion organization. News reporters were barred from attending or asking questions of the nation's former top diplomat.

The trip follows a similar banquet Tuesday night near Kansas City.

The former Secretary of State, CIA director and congressman has opted to stay in Washington, DC, rather than return to his adopted hometown of Wichita, fueling speculation that he's gearing up for a run at the White House.

Since January, Pompeo has stayed in the spotlight, often criticizing the Biden administration and recently joining Fox News as a contributor.

The Wichita trip comes a day after McClatchy reported on a whistleblower complaint raising concerns about the use of State Department staff to prepare for an event with a Wichita company.

An inspector general investigation released two weeks ago found Mike Pompeo and his wife, Susan Pompeo, misused State Department resources and staff for personal business and detailed over 100 instances of misconduct that "had no apparent connection to the official business of the Department."

A spokesman for Pompeo declined to comment for this story.

Danielle Underwood, spokesperson for Kansans for Life, said the Wichita banquet was closed to reporters at Pompeo's request.

"Secretary Pompeo will not be made available for any inquiries or questions from media," Underwood said, adding that the group is "excited and honored" that Pompeo chose to come back to Kansas to attend their event.

"It's a banquet to support KFL and the work we do, and it's also an opportunity to honor Secretary Pompeo and his work as Secretary of State, specifically his support of women worldwide and his work in human rights," Underwood said.

Kansans for Life offered different levels of sponsorship and sold individual tickets at $150 a person. Estimated attendance is 400 people, Underwood said.

Money for the banquet goes to Kansans for Life, not Pompeo, she said.

"Secretary Pompeo has been a stalwart defender of human rights on the international stage and he believes that the current threat of an unlimited abortion industry in Kansas is a true danger to both women and babies in our state. He offered to stand beside Kansans for Life at this critical moment," Underwood said.

Pompeo's visit is expected to help the rally the state's anti-abortion base ahead of a 2022 vote on whether abortion rights should be included in the Kansas Constitution, Underwood said.

The legislature moved to place the "Value Them Both" amendment on the August 2022 primary ballot. It will ask Kansas voters whether the state constitution should be amended to say it doesn't guarantee the right to an abortion, laying the legal groundwork for severe restrictions or a future ban on the procedure if the federal right to an abortion is ever abolished.

The Kansans for Life banquet also gives Pompeo face time with an influential political group as he flirts with a presidential run in 2024. Pompeo has already visited Iowa and recently donated $155,000 from his U.S. House campaign fund to a newly formed political action committee that shares a treasurer and Kansas-based bank with his U.S. House committee fund.

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