When is the last time a Republican U. S. senator became president of the United States? So if Mike Pompeo wants to run for president in 2024, running for the U. S. Senate in 2020 would be ill-advised, and by remaining as Secretary of State or another role in the executive branch, he will be on the world stage for five more years, rather than stuck in the Senate compiling a legislative voting record for the establishment media to assail should he run for president in 2024.