Santorum not interested in White House chief of staff role

Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-Pa.) said late Tuesday that he would decline if President Trump asked him to serve as the next White House chief of staff. 

“Look, it’s an honor even to be considered,” the Pennsylvania Republican said during an appearance on CNN’s “Erin Burnett OutFront.” 

“I think it’s a great job, and I know that there are a lot of good people out there. The bottom line for me is — just really like Nick Ayers, I mean, my family situation really doesn’t allow me to do that right now,” he continued.

Former senator Rick Santorum tells CNN’s @ErinBurnett that “its an honor even to be considered” for White House chief of staff, “but at this point it just doesn’t fit for me and my family. So, you know, I guess the answer right now would be no.” https://t.co/579JxsWwSB pic.twitter.com/tgmx19MFpU

— OutFrontCNN (@OutFrontCNN) December 11, 2018

{mosads}”I would, again, be honored to do it at some point in time maybe, but at this point it just doesn’t, it just doesn’t fit for me and my family and so, you know, I guess the answer right now would be no,” he added.

According to a report published by The Washington Post on Tuesday, Santorum’s name was mentioned among a number of others that sources claim Trump has been considering for the role. 

Trump aides also reportedly floated the former senator’s name as a possible contender after he was spotted with Trump at the Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia on Saturday. “They noted Santorum’s political skills and populist conservative ideology could make him a contender,” according to the Post. 

Santorum said over the weekend that Trump’s next chief of staff should be someone with more of a political background than John Kelly — who served for roughly 17 months in the position — had.

“I think the lockdown tough general that Trump respects … didn’t work in controlling Trump,” Santorum, who is also a political analyst for CNN, said on “State of the Union.”

“I like the idea of someone who is a politician, someone who is respected by the president for his political instincts,” he continued. “Because that, to me, is sort of the secret sauce of how you get the president to focus more on his agenda and the things many of us have been telling him to focus on.”

Kelly, a former Marine Corps general, joined the Trump administration in January 2017 as secretary of Homeland Security before transitioning to the chief of staff role in the summer of 2017.

He served as the president’s second chief of staff, after Reince Priebus.