Marc Short returns to the administration as chief of staff of Pence



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Vice President Mike Pence has selected Marc Short, who served as the director of legislative affairs for President Trump during his first two years in office, a person familiar with the announcement said on Tuesday.

Back in the administration that he left last June, Mr. Short will fill the role vacated by Nick Ayers when he resigned earlier this year. Mr. Short has extensive relations with Mr. Pence and was his chief of staff when the Vice-Chair sat in the House and was part of his staff during the 2016 campaign.

Mr. Short's new position was announced at the Vice President's meeting Tuesday morning. He could not be contacted immediately for comment. It should start in a few weeks.

With the return of Mr. Short, the White House will deepen its list of seasoned veterans as the President prepares for a grueling re-election campaign. Mr. Short also has extensive experience in dealing with a divided Congress and has been perceived as a voice in the West Wing. Before his departure last year, he had been among the most outspoken voices of the president's circle warning of the dark prospects of House Republicans in the mid-term elections.

As Director of Legislative Affairs, he participated in the White House's efforts to pass the President's Bill on Taxes in 2017, as well as Justice Neil Gorsuch's confirmation to the Supreme Court.

In the past, Mr. Short has also been a useful asset to the president on television, often making appearances during Sunday TV shows to promote the policies of the administration. When the assistants leave the White House, Mr. Trump often likes to tell people that they will come back. But Mr Short is the first senior official in the administration to have done so.

After leaving the White House, Mr. Short became the emblem of the controversy faced by former collaborators for working for Mr. Trump. He was hired as a fellow by the University of Virginia, which had been the site of the infamous White nationalist rally in Charlottesville that claimed the life of a woman in 2017. The hiring of Mr. Short by the university has been criticized.

Mr. Short, a veteran of Virginia politics, spent several years serving the sprawling political apparatus created by brothers Charles G. and David H. Koch before joining the administration.

The hiring comes at a time when the organization of the Trump re-election campaign has announced a series of new positions.

Mark Lotter, former press officer for Pence, will assume the role of director of strategic communications for the campaign, announced the campaign on Tuesday. Kayleigh McEnany, a former spokeswoman for the National Republican Committee and a former CNN contributor, will be the national press officer for the campaign. And Tim Murtaugh, who recently worked in communication for Sonny Perdue, secretary of agriculture, will be the director of communications.

On her first day at work, Ms. McEnany issued a statement about the announcement made by Senator Bernie Sanders on Monday that he was running for president again, saying that "every candidate adheres to his or her mark of socialism ".

The campaign also announced that Cole Blocker would be the CFO after serving in the East Wing as Deputy Director of the White House Visitors Bureau. Lastly, Megan Powers, who recently served as press secretary for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, will be appointed Director of Administrative Operations.

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