Santorum says ‘no' to job in potential Romney administration

ByABC News
June 17, 2012, 11:58 AM

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Rick Santorum says he would not take a job in a potential Mitt Romney administration, should the presumptive Republican nominee win the presidential election.

"I want to help Mitt Romney get elected president," Santorum said on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday. "I'll be happy to help him and advise him if he wants my advice as president. But, no, my objective right now is to serve my family and provide for them. I've got two kids in college."

When CNN host Candy Crowley told Santorum that it did not sound like "a flat no," the former Pennsylvania senator countered: "Yes, it's -- it's pretty much a flat no. I mean, it's not because I don't want to help Governor Romney [and] I don't want to be a part of him having a successful presidency. It's just, for me, it's a matter of my priorities and my time of being a husband and father and I sort of have to take care--I have to take care--of them."

Earlier in the interview, Santorum criticized his former Republican rival for not coming down harder on President Obama's decision to halt the deportation of as many as 800,000 young illegal immigrants.

"He's trying to walk the line," Santorum said of Romney. "He's trying to walk a line as not to sound like he's hostile to Latinos--swing voters--and in very important states. But at the same time, I think you need to hammer the president on this now habitual abuse of power."