Marc Short

Marc Short (born March 3, 1970) is an American political advisor who served as Chief of Staff to Vice President Mike Pence.[1] He was previously the Director of Legislative Affairs at the White House from 2017 to 2018. He became Chief of Staff for Pence in March 2019, and his service ended with Pence's on January 20, 2021. He was previously a Senior Fellow at the Miller Center of Public Affairs, a CNN contributor, as well as Chief of Staff to Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and the House Republican Conference. He was President of Freedom Partners Chamber of Commerce from 2011 to 2016.

For the bishop, see Mark Short.
Marc Short
Chief of Staff to the Vice President
In office
March 1, 2019 – January 20, 2021
Vice PresidentMike Pence
Preceded byNick Ayers
Succeeded byHartina Flournoy
White House Director of Legislative Affairs
In office
January 20, 2017 – July 20, 2018
PresidentDonald Trump
Preceded byAmy Rosenbaum
Succeeded byShahira Knight
Personal details
Born (1970-03-03) March 3, 1970
Virginia, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Kristen Short
Children3
ParentsDick Short
EducationWashington and Lee University (BA)
University of Virginia (MBA)

Early life and education

Marc Short was born in Virginia, the son of Richard T. "Dick" Short III, an insurance executive, and his wife Florence "Kim" Timolat Short.[2] The family lived "in a comfortable waterfront home on the eastern tip of Virginia Beach’s Bay Island."[3] He attended Norfolk Academy from grade school to high school.[3]

He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1992.[4] While an undergraduate at Washington and Lee University, Short co-founded The Spectator in 1989, a conservative paper. He served as editor until 1992, when he graduated.[5] In a column for the paper, Short "disparaged people living with HIV and AIDS," stating "the propaganda campaign ignited by gay activists and carelessly perpetuated by journalists whose intent is to scare all heterosexuals into believing they are prime targets for contraction of the disease. The campaign's purpose is both to lobby Congress for more federal funding of AIDS research and to destigmatize the perverted lifestyles homosexuals pursue."[5][6][7]

Career

Short served as finance director for Oliver North's unsuccessful 1994 Senate campaign in Virginia. He then worked as spokesperson and executive director for The Freedom Alliance. Short was also the executive director of Young America's Foundation.[8] In 1998, the group purchased the Reagan Ranch in California,[9] with the intention of using it for leadership seminars for college students. Short managed the property with his wife and got his start in fundraising from conservative donors.[8] The Shorts then returned to Virginia, where he received his MBA from the University of Virginia.[4]

Following his graduation, Short was hired as a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security. He then worked for Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, eventually becoming her chief of staff. When Hutchison ran for Governor of Texas, Short started working for then-Congressman Mike Pence, who named him chief of staff for the House Republican Conference in 2009. He remained in the position until 2011.[4] Short was then hired by Koch Industries and eventually transitioned to become the President of Freedom Partners, a non-profit, 501(c)(6) chamber of commerce located in Arlington, Virginia that is largely funded by Charles and David Koch. He served as the organization's President until 2016.[4] In February 2016, Short left his position at Freedom Partners to start his own consulting firm. Among his clients were Marco Rubio's presidential campaign and Pence's Indiana gubernatorial campaign.[4] Pence eventually withdrew from the gubernatorial race to become Trump's running mate. On June 16, 2016, Short was named Communications Advisor to then Vice Presidential candidate Pence.[10][11][12]

Trump administration

President Trump named Short the Director of Legislative Affairs on January 4, 2017.[13] Short announced he would leave the White House post in the summer of 2018, citing “diminishing returns” of pushing President Donald Trump’s agenda.[14]

On February 19, 2019, Vice President Mike Pence announced Short would be his next Chief of Staff, beginning in March 2019.[1]

On November 20, 2019, Short issued a statement rebutting the sworn testimony given that same day before Congress by US Ambassador to the European Union Gordon Sondland. Sondland claimed while meeting with Pence that the two discussed the alleged "quid pro quo" that was at the heart of the impeachment inquiry before the House. Marc Short wrote the vice president "never had a conversation with Gordon Sondland about investigating the Bidens, Burisma, or the conditional release of financial aid to Ukraine based upon potential investigations."[15] Later that evening during Cuomo Prime Time, the statement was described as being well crafted and that it didn't deny that Pence already knew about Trump's requests.[16]

During the coronavirus pandemic of 2020, Short played an important role on Vice President Mike Pence's coronavirus task force. During the response to the coronavirus pandemic, Short persistently downplayed the dangers of the pandemic, and criticized the data shared with Trump that modeled an estimated 100,000 - 240,000 U.S. deaths under a continuation of the administration's social distancing policies, and as many as 1.6 million - 2.2 million U.S. deaths in the absence of any mitigation efforts. In internal White House discussions, Short said he did not believe that the U.S. death toll would ever go beyond 60,000. In internal discussions, Short also criticized the administration's public health response in a broader policy level, arguing that it damaged the economy and harmed Trump's re-election chances. He repeatedly encouraged others in the administration to re-open the economy amid the implementation of lockdown and social distancing efforts.[17]

As Short and his wife hold stock in various pharmaceutical and medical companies connected with the Pence task force's work, this raised concerns of potential conflicts of interest.[18][19][20]

On October 24, 2020, it was reported that Short and three other Pence aides had tested positive for COVID-19.[21] The White House tried to prevent the information from becoming public.[22]

On January 7, 2021, Short stated that Trump had banned him from entering the White House after Pence, whom Trump had been pressuring to not confirm Biden's win, told lawmakers that he did not have the legal power to reject electoral votes.[23]

Personal life

Marc and Kristen Short were married in 1997.[8] They have three children and live in Arlington, Virginia.[4] He is an evangelical Christian.[24]

References
  1. Pence, Vice President Mike (2019-02-19). "I am pleased to announce that Marc Short will be returning to the White House to serve as my chief of staff. Marc will be joining the Office of the Vice President in March and we look forward to welcoming him to our great @VP Team!". @VP. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  2. "SHORT, RICHARD T. IV". Richmond Times-Dispatch. August 28, 2016. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  3. Bartel, Bill (April 22, 2017). "Virginia Beach native Marc Short follows his father's footsteps to a key post in Trump White House". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  4. Cheney, Kyle; Nussbaum, Matthew (January 18, 2017). "Donald Trump's man on the Hill". Politico.
  5. Markay, Lachlan; Stein, Sam (February 27, 2019). "Pence's Incoming Chief of Staff, Marc Short, Disparaged People Living With AIDS for 'Repugnant' Gay Sex in College Column". The Daily Beast. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  6. Mills Rodrigo, Chris (February 27, 2019). "Pence's incoming chief of staff apologizes for college column disparaging people living with AIDS". The Hill. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  7. Duffy, Nick (February 27, 2019). "Mike Pence aide Marc Short attacked gay people's 'perverted lifestyles'". Pink News. Retrieved February 28, 2019.
  8. Purdum, Todd S. (May 24, 1998). "Keeping Reagan's Legacy Alive at His Old Ranch". The New York Times.
  9. Lach, Eric (September 16, 2013). "Meet The Man Who Runs The Koch Brothers' Secret Bank". TPM.
  10. Goldmacher, Shane (January 2, 2017). "Trump expected to name Marc Short legislative affairs director". Politico.
  11. "The Latest: Trump campaign names staffers to help Pence". US News. AP. July 16, 2016.
  12. Rucker, Philip; Gold, Matea (July 16, 2016). "Mike Pence integrates longtime advisers with Trump campaign". Washington Post.
  13. Nakamura, David (January 4, 2017). "Trump announces additional White House staff". Washington Post.
  14. Michael C. Bender (June 14, 2018). "White House Capitol Hill Envoy to Leave Post, Citing 'Diminishing Returns'". WSJ.com. Retrieved June 15, 2018.
  15. "Sondland testimony raises questions about Pence's denials on Ukraine". CNN. Retrieved 2019-11-20.
  16. "Cuomo Prime Time November 20, 2019". CNN. November 20, 2019.
  17. "34 days of pandemic: Inside Trump's desperate attempts to reopen America". The Washington Post.
  18. Mak, Tim (2020-05-28). "Pence Chief Of Staff Owns Stocks That Could Conflict With Coronavirus Response". NPR.org. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  19. Tucker, Emma (2020-05-28). "VP's Chief of Staff Marc Short's Stock Holdings Could Conflict With Coronavirus Response: NPR". The Daily Beast. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  20. "Does the Vice President's Chief of Staff Have a Coronavirus Conflict of Interest?". CREW. 2020-04-23. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
  21. Díaz, Daniella; Klein, Betsy (October 25, 2020). "Pence chief of staff Marc Short tests positive for coronavirus". CNN. Retrieved October 25, 2020.
  22. Wu, Katherine J.; Zimmer, Carl (2020-10-25). "4 Pence Aides Test Positive for the Coronavirus". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-10-25.
  23. Aggarwal, Mayank (January 7, 2021). "Pence's chief of staff says Trump has banned him from West Wing".
  24. Dawsey, Josh (February 19, 2019). "Marc Short to serve as Vice President Pence's chief of staff as White House gears up for 2020 campaign". Washington Post. Retrieved February 27, 2019.
Political offices
Preceded by
Nick Ayers		 Chief of Staff to the Vice President
2019–2021		 Succeeded by
Hartina Flournoy
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