Trump has a history of damaging the lives of those who stick with him. The smart ones are those who realized their reputation was in danger and arranged a graceful exit.
What puzzles me about Pompeo is that he is not lacking in intelligence like Nikki Haley or Jim Jordan -- their actions are easily explained. In fact, he's generally considered to be exceptionally smart; yet appears to have decided to remain on board a sinking ship. Why would any intelligent person tie themselves to a lawless president who, on his best days, can only command 40% of the vote? Of course, were Trump a good president misunderstood, altruism could explain it. But that can not be the explanation now. There must be an reason, but what is it? Is it that he has broken laws that will send him to prison for years, and Trump knows it. Is he a betrayer, just like Trump, and is confident the Russians have the next election well in hand and can not fail. And that in the aftermath he can continue to fool enough of the people enough of the time. Is he a confirmed believer in Bannon's White Nationalism and believes it is worth going down for "the cause". Or, like Trump, is he flawed by a ruinous personality disorder. Eventually we will know the answer. I don't believe blind ambition alone can be enough. In fact a smart person only there because of ambition would have exited long ago, as Gary Cohn did. So there must be something else on top of Pompeo's ambition. But what is it?