TOPEKA, Kan. _ When Mike Pompeo addresses the Republican National Convention for the very first time Tuesday night, the backdrop will be legendary: the Old City of Jerusalem, heart of three major religions and a century of conflict that has challenged secretaries of state for generations.
But his debut convention speech, which aides say will highlight the Trump administration's commitment to Israel and Middle East peace, will also mark yet another moment when the possible 2024 Republican presidential contender has chosen to mix duty and politics.
The speech comes at a delicate diplomatic moment for Israel, fearful it will lose the bipartisan support in Washington it has long enjoyed, as well as for the Palestinians, whose leadership is searching for a path forward to preserve the chances of a two-state solution.
Yet the people of the region _ Israeli, Palestinians and the wider Arab world _ will not be Pompeo's audience on Tuesday night.
The choice to deliver a partisan speech from Jerusalem _ reviewed by four teams of lawyers _ fits within a pattern of political maneuverings by Pompeo as secretary of state.
The former Wichita congressman, brought into the Trump administration in 2017 to lead the Central Intelligence Agency before taking over the State Department in 2018, has frequently met with political donors, repeatedly visited his home state of Kansas on official trips using government aircraft, and hosted a series of elaborate dinners attended by more Washington influencers than diplomatic heavyweights.
Most recently, Pompeo has been under scrutiny over his recommendation that President Donald Trump dismiss the State Department inspector general, Steve Linick, just as his office was investigating whether he and his wife misused government personnel and time for personal errands. Linick was fired in May, but his office's investigations remain ongoing.
Pompeo's multiple trips to Kansas last year came as party leaders urged him to run for Senate. At times, the journeys took on a campaign-like vibe as he sat for rounds of interviews with local media and visited a technical college campus with Ivanka Trump.
But none of those events provided Pompeo with the kind of high-profile platform he'll enjoy when he takes the virtual convention stage.
"It is certainly not unusual for candidates to go to Israel in the run-up to presidential campaigns _ Obama went in the summer of 2008, Romney went I think in the summer of 2012, both prior to conventions," said Dennis Ross, a veteran Middle East envoy who served former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama.
"This is clearly different," Ross continued. "Giving a speech from Israel during a party convention is unprecedented. It would certainly play to the desire to portray the administration's policies as good for Israel _ and to gain politically from it vis-a-vis the Democrats."
It is highly unusual for a sitting secretary of state to address a political convention, noted Dan Shapiro, former U.S. ambassador to Israel under Obama, who accused Pompeo of attempting to score political points with evangelical voters.
"Pompeo's speech is cheap, transparent politics without precedent for a sitting Secretary of State," Shapiro said. "It violates a core principle drilled into every Foreign Service Officer from the first day of their training: that the State Department must operate above partisan politics abroad."
Pompeo's speech has raised objections from watchdog groups, as well, who are especially troubled that the nation's top diplomat will be delivering a partisan speech while abroad.
"This is perhaps the most egregious example of how Secretary Pompeo has used his position to help serve his own personal political goals," said Donald Sherman, deputy director at Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
Career Foreign Service officers � who serve in the department regardless of the party in power � are regularly advised that the State Department represents the United States abroad, and not simply the interests of a political party, Sherman said.
Neither Hillary Clinton nor Colin Powell spoke to their party conventions while serving as secretary of state. Clinton ran for president in 2016, the following election cycle.
The State Department itself warns Senate-confirmed officials from appearing at partisan events. A February 2020 email to agency employees urged them to review legal memos on political activity that say Senate-confirmed appointees "may not even attend a political party convention or convention-related event," Politico reported Monday.
Mike Kuckelman, chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, said Republicans aren't concerned by Pompeo's convention appearance. Democrats criticize everything Republicans do, he said.
"I think it's a big to-do about absolutely nothing," Kuckelman said. "Secretary Pompeo is a very intelligent man. He knows exactly what the requirements of the law are and I have every confidence he will be within the four corners of the law."
A State Department official told McClatchy that Pompeo will address the convention in his personal capacity and that no State Department resources will be used.
As Pompeo prepares to break tradition with his convention speech, his stock is "really high" among Republicans, Kuckelman said. He predicted the former congressman will again hold elected office one day.
Kelly Arnold, a former chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, said Pompeo is a national leader and "one of our top guys."
"When Secretary Pompeo is no longer in this position, he's going to have a lot of opportunity to look at what that next step is for him," Arnold said.
Vicki Hiatt, chairwoman of the Kansas Democratic Party, said the speech carries echoes of Pompeo's repeated trips to Kansas in 2019. She said in those instances it was "very obvious" Pompeo was trying to promote himself.
"I don't think anybody has any doubts that he's got political interests down the road of probably being in the White House," Hiatt said. "He wants this large forum of the RNC convention to be able to promote those ideas and promote himself."
Pompeo has been coy about his future political ambitions. But his extended flirtation with running for the Senate in Kansas last year suggests he has plans that extend beyond his role in Trump's cabinet, which will eventually come to an end.
He continues to maintain a dormant campaign account from his days as a congressman that holds nearly $1 million.
Whatever lies ahead, a prime-time speech touting his support for Israel and Trump's Israel policy certainly won't hurt Pompeo's standing with the Republican base.
If he were to run for president in 2024, his primary contenders could include Vice President Mike Pence, who has well-established ties to the evangelical community, and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, who built a reputation as a staunch defender of Israel as Trump's first U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
"Being not just strong but a flamboyantly strong defender of Israel is really important to positioning yourself for a primary run," said Russell Arben Fox, a political science professor at Friends University in Wichita who has tracked Pompeo's career.
