Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will headline the South Carolina Republican Party’s annual fundraiser at the end of the month, sparking further speculation that the former Trump administration official is preparing a campaign for the presidency in 2024.
The Hill reports:
Pompeo will be headlining the Silver Elephant fundraising gala on July 30, South Carolina GOP Chair Drew McKissick announced in a statement. The appearance will take place at one of the South Carolina GOP’s highest-profile events in a state that holds outsized influence in presidential primaries given its early slot in the nominating calendar. […] The Silver Elephant gala is often headlined by lawmakers who are looking to lay out a path for the White House, including then-California Gov. Ronald Reagan, former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.) and Sen. Ted Cruz (Texas).
“Secretary Pompeo is an excellent champion for our conservative cause, and has proven that here at home and on the world stage,” McKissick said in a statement. “We look forward to welcoming him to the Palmetto State, hearing his story, and celebrating past and future Republican successes.”
The development comes after Pompeo the launched Champion American Values (CAV) PAC, which is aimed at helping Republican candidates win elections at all levels of government. The former secretary of state has called for conservatives to be “pipehitters” by getting involved in boosting GOP candidates.
“A pipehitter — it’s really straightforward,” Pompeo said when asked to define the term, which comes from military jargon. “A pipehitter — there’s lots of pipehitters out there. These are just people who work hard, who tell the truth, who keep their faith, who are fearless, who aren’t going to be canceled, who are going to take a little bit of time on a Tuesday night to go to a city council meeting or on a Wednesday night to go to their church’s chili cook off,” Pompeo explained in a recent interview with Breitbart News Saturday on SiriusXM 125.
“These are people who care about America deeply. They’re willing to suffer some costs to defend the things we all care about. Frankly, pipehitters get stuff done. It came from a phrase — a guy who worked for me at CIA, I asked him about a young lady and said ‘how is she? Is she good for this new position.’ He said, ‘sir, she’s a pipehitter. She’s a pipehitter. She gets stuff done. She is determined. She is focused and she knows what the mission is and she’s going to stop until she’s got it completed,’” he added.