Colonel Allen West met with President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy team on Monday, including Vice President-elect Mike Pence, Mike Flynn and KT McFarland.
He may not be joining the upcoming administration, though.
After the meeting, West told reporters that he discussed national security issues with the president-elect, but said he was not offered a position.
“I mean they know my reputation very well,” he said. “I’m just a simple soldier and I’m the third of four generations that served this country going back to my father in World War II, and we still have a relative of ours that is continuing to serve in the Army now.”
West, a Tea Party hero with a reputation for speaking his mind, won a United States Congressional seat in 2010. Redistricting made his district more competitive, and he was defeated by his Democrat challenger Patrick Murphy in 2012.