White House legislative director Marc Short is leaving as the White House pushes fewer policies on Capitol Hill ahead of the midterms. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo Top White House staffer Marc Short tells colleagues he’s leaving

White House legislative affairs director Marc Short told his colleagues Friday that he’s resigning, according to current and former administration officials.

He is expected to leave the White House in mid-July, but it was unclear whether he has accepted a new position. Short, the top White House liaison to Capitol Hill, did not respond to several requests for comment.


Chief of staff John Kelly has spoken to the deputy director of the National Economic Council, Shahira Knight, about potentially taking over Short’s job, said one former administration official. Knight is also slated to leave the White House in the coming weeks to take a position at The Clearing House, a banking policy and lobbying group. Knight was instrumental in developing the policy underpinnings as well as selling Republican lawmakers on the major tax bill last fall.

Officials inside the White House and close advisers did not think any internal candidates for Short’s job would come out of the current legislative affairs shop.

Short is well-liked by his team and has morphed into a power player inside the White House, adept at the internal battles as well as representing the administration on television, a key attribute for a top Trump staffer.

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One former administration official called Short’s job a pressure cooker, second only to that of the press secretary in terms of its demands.

“Those are the two toughest jobs in the White House,” the official added, since both require the occupants to balance the wishes of the president and his agenda with the needs of Congress and the press. “Short is tired,” the former official added.

A departuren by Short also would happen as the White House pushes fewer policies on Capitol Hill ahead of the midterms.

The White House press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.