Lugar considering think tank, university positions

Indiana Sen. Richard Lugar is planning to take a job outside government when he leaves the Senate in January.

A spokesman for Lugar says the senator has been talking with some think tanks and universities about positions taking advantage of his long tenure as a leading member of the Senate's Foreign Relations Committee.

The Republican senator has been mentioned as a possible secretary of state or CIA director under President Barack Obama, but Lugar spokesman Andy Fisher told Indianapolis radio station WIBC-FM that such reports are "without any forethought or knowledge."

The 80-year-old Lugar was first elected to the Senate in 1976 but lost his bid for a seventh term when he lost in the Republican primary in May. Democrat Joe Donnelly will replace Lugar in the Senate.