Latest Moves

Summer 2018: Short Left Position As White House Legislative Affairs Director. [Wall Street Journal, 6/14/18]

July 2018: UVA Hired Short To Serve As Senior Fellow At Miller Center. “Marc Short, a frequent Trump spokesman on television, is leaving the White House Friday and is slated to serve as a senior fellow at the Miller Center, a wing of the university focused on presidential history and public policy. Short received an MBA from the university’s business school.” [Politico, 7/19/18]

UVA Professor Spoke Out Against University’s Hiring Of Short For Teaching Position, Citing His Role In Family Separation Policy. “Siva Vaidhyanathan, a media studies professor at U-Va., said he opposes the appointment because of measures that Short supported, including ending immigration that is driven by family reunification, as well as the decision to separate migrant children from their parents at the border, a policy Trump later froze. He said Short’s support of family separation “shows me that Marc Short is not a decent moral person and he has acted dishonorably. People who support family separation on the border should not be welcomed in what we used to call polite society let alone be members of this university community.”” [Washington Post, 7/20/18]

Headline: Washington Post: “Hire of departing Trump official by U-Va. draws ire of professors and students.” [Washington Post, 7/20/18]

Headline: The Hill: “Petition urges University of Virginia not to hire Marc Short.” [The Hill, 7/19/18]

Headline: Politico: “Hiring of former Trump aide at UVa prompts 2 historians to quit.” [Politico, 7/30/18]

Hiring Agreement Between UVA & Short Envisioned Short Promoting Events, Giving Speeches, Wooing Donors On Behalf Of University. “The University of Virginia think tank that came under fire for hiring a former aide to President Donald Trump wants him to take on a prominent role — speaking publicly, promoting events and wooing donors — according to a hiring document obtained by POLITICO. The agreement makes clear the center isn’t planning to hide Marc Short, Trump’s former legislative affairs director — even as it has faced intense blowback over its decision to appoint him to a one-year stint as a senior fellow. The hiring letter, obtained through a state FOIA request, calls on Short to speak publicly on behalf of the Miller Center and to help plan events, including a “Presidential Ideas Festival” — and recruit his GOP connections to attend. It also says he will meet with donors and “help to think strategically about fundraising.”” [Politico, 8/7/18]

July 2018: Short Joined Republican Consulting Firm Guidepost Strategies. “At Guidepost, Short will serve as a partner alongside Phil Cox, a former executive director of the Republican Governors Association, and Marie Sanderson, who was policy director at RGA. The firm does consulting, lobbying and communications for an array of corporate and nonprofit clients, including the tobacco company Reynolds American, pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, BMW and the American Petroleum Institute. Short himself will not be doing any lobbying. “Marc brings that unique combination of policy depth and political expertise, which is a hallmark of our firm,” Cox said in a statement to POLITICO. “Marie and I are excited to have him join our team.”” [Politico, 7/12/18]

July 2018: CNN Hired Marc Short As A Contributor. [CNN, 7/30/18]

Short Was Represented By Harry Walker Agency Speakers Bureau. [HWA – Marc Short, accessed 11/13/20]

January 2019: Short Delivered Lecture To Kick Off Washington & Lee’s Washington Term Speaker Series. [Washington & Lee press release, 1/29/19]

February 2019: Short Returned To Administration As Vice President Pence’s Chief Of Staff. [Twitter – VP Mike Pence, 2/19/19]

Recent News

Short Was On List Of Attendees For Meeting Where Cabinet Officials Voted To Proceed With Family Separations. “According to an invitation list obtained by NBC News, those expected to be in attendance at the meeting included: Sessions, Nielsen, Miller, Pompeo, Azar, Undersecretary of Defense John Rood, then-White House chief of staff John Kelly, White House deputy chief of staff Chris Liddell, then-White House counsel Don McGahn and Marc Short, who was then director of legislative affairs and is now chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence.” [NBC News, 8/20/20]

Headline: NBC News: “Trump Cabinet officials voted in 2018 White House meeting to separate migrant children, say officials.” [NBC News, 8/20/20]

Headline: CNN: “White House says family separations at the border are a ‘binary choice,’ but stats say otherwise.” [CNN, 6/18/18]

Short Wrongly Alleged That The Law Required The Administration To Separate Families. “In his interview with Blitzer, Short said the law requires the administration to separate children from their parents when they cross into the country illegally. However, that’s not the case. There is no blanket law requiring all families who cross the border illegally to be separated. Attorney General Jeff Sessions decided to refer all people who cross the border illegally for criminal prosecution. The practice under past administrations was to refer these cases to the civil courts.” [CNN, 6/18/18]