Speaking at the White House after John Bolton's surprise exit as national security adviser, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo couldn't hide a smile of satisfaction.
With the departure of Bolton, Pompeo has become the undisputed king of President Donald Trump's foreign policy -- with the exception, that is, of Trump himself.
The former soldier, lawyer and businessman has made a quick ascent in Washington since arriving as a Kansas congressman elected in the 2010 right-wing populist "Tea Party" movement.
But many speculate that Pompeo will choose not to stay long in his newly powerful position, enticed by an opening to represent Kansas in the Senate next year -- perhaps with an eye on running for the top prize in the 2024 presidential election.
First tapped as CIA director before moving to the State Department last year, Pompeo is so close to Trump that the president last year said he was his only advisor with whom he has never argued.
Expectations even rose that Trump would name Pompeo to replace Bolton -- a rare dual-role as national security advisor and secretary of state last held by Henry Kissinger.
Trump on Thursday ruled out the possibility but called Pompeo "fantastic" and said, "I get along with him so well." Yet Pompeo's power, analysts say, comes with a paradox. While Bolton, a Washington insider for over four decades, bulldozed his way to steer US foreign policy to the right on issues from Iran to Venezuela, Pompeo has risen because he is careful to follow Trump's lead.
"Pompeo is influential but it is important to be realistic about his influence -- he's influential because he does not push his agenda too much," said Tom Wright, a foreign policy scholar at the Brookings Institution. "He knows when to give up. He is the last person standing but also he's not particularly influential on policy," he said.
"He pushes his views and then he gives up quite early on if he sense that Trump is going in another direction."
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