Washington (CNN) - Rep. Mike Rogers said Sunday that while he’s calling it quits from Congress, he’ll stay active in politics by hosting a new national radio program, which might even serve as a launchpad for a 2016 presidential run.
The Michigan Republican said last week that he isn’t running for re-election this fall, after serving a little over a decade in office, the last few years as chairman of the House Intelligence Committee.
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“I had a career before politics and always planned to have one after,” Rogers said in a statement. He also announced that he will host a syndicated radio program focusing on national security issues.
Appearing on “Fox News Sunday,” Rogers said he thinks he can help bring national security topics to the forefront, something he said is lacking today in talk radio.
“When someone walked in and said, 'Hey, we're going to give you the opportunity to have a discussion in people's cars, living rooms and kitchen every single day, from California to Iowa to New Hampshire to South Carolina, we think you can change the needle on this debate' - and I thought long and hard about it and said, “You know, I think they're right,’” Rogers said.
Seizing on the references to Iowa and New Hampshire, two key presidential primary states, host Chris Wallace asked about Rogers’ potential presidential ambitions in 2016, pointing out that Ronald Reagan launched his presidential bid, in part, from his radio show platform.
“Ronald Reagan used his platform on radio to run for president of the United States? I had no idea,” Rogers wryly replied before adding, “I'm going to take it where it goes.”