Mike Pompeo becomes latest MAGA hire for Fox News, continuing bipartisan tradition of politics-to-punditry pipeline

Former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has landed a gig at Fox News, following in the footsteps of countless officials from both parties who have become talking heads after leaving public office.

Pompeo joined the news network as a contributor and will offer his insights on Fox News and Fox Business, the company said. In a press release, Fox News CEO Suzanne Scott described the Trump cabinet member as “one of America’s most recognized and respected voices on foreign policy and national security issues” and said that the network was looking forward to broadcasting his “distinct perspective” to millions of viewers.

Commenting on his new job, Pompeo vowed to provide “candid, no-nonsense” analysis about “America First policies” that led to “prosperity and security” for the United States, apparently in reference to the Trump administration’s own ‘America First’ agenda. 

Pompeo is a curious choice for the job. He headed the CIA before taking the reins at the State Department, and once boasted that under his direction the clandestine agency “lied and cheated” regularly. 

But the former statesman and spy chief, who was a frequent guest on the news network, isn’t the first member of team MAGA to be put on Fox’s payroll. 

The broadcaster revealed last week that Trump’s former White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, had been hired to co-host “Outnumbered,” a political talk show. Fox had initially recruited her as a contributor after she left the Trump administration. 

The network has also hired members of Trump’s own family. In March, Lara Trump, the daughter-in-law of the former president’s son, Eric, joined Fox as a paid contributor. The 38-year-old former TV producer had previously worked as an adviser to the Trump campaign and had made numerous appearances at rallies. 

She celebrated her new role by joking that she already felt like an “unofficial member of the team” because of all the times she had previously appeared on the network as a guest. 

The revolving door between the DC elite and corporate media didn’t begin with the Trump administration, however. After Barack Obama left the White House, many members of his administration found new homes at cable news networks. For example, former Obama senior adviser David Axelrod joined NBC News and MSNBC as a contributor, and was later hired by CNN. 

John Kirby, who served as a State Department spokesperson and Pentagon press secretary during the Obama years, became a military and diplomatic analyst for CNN. Some of the Obama-era officials who rebranded as pundits, including former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, were instrumental in perpetuating the now-debunked claim that Trump’s election campaign had “colluded” with Moscow during the 2016 presidential race.

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