Republican Rep. Mark Meadows is batting back rumors that he will be the next White House chief of staff while not quite denying them either.
“Yeah, I know. That’s been more floating my name than reality,” the North Carolina congressman told the Washington Examiner when asked about the job, currently held by Mick Mulvaney. Thought to be on solid footing more recently, Mulvaney has at times been said to be on thin ice with President Trump.
Meadows, who announced his retirement from Congress Thursday morning, did not rule out other administration posts either.
“I’m certainly willing to help the president and continue to help the president. It’s too early to speculate,” he said. “I just know any word that I say right now,” people will say, “‘Oh, well, that’s what he’s leaning to.’”
He added, “I’m really just going to look at how I can best be a voice for millions of Americans who think that Washington, D.C., has forgotten them, and that won’t stop.”
Meadows, first elected to Congress in 2012, became a founding member of the House Freedom Caucus, rising up to lead its conservative members in 2017 for two years. He is considered one of Trump’s close political allies on the Hill.
Meadows was previously considered for chief of staff by the White House, and Republicans in Congress have assumed that landing the position was his end goal. With Meadows having announced his retirement, speculation in GOP circles has blossomed that Meadows is poised to succeed Mulvaney, the president’s acting chief of staff, as soon as the impeachment trial in the Senate concludes.
Further stoking speculation that Meadows would join the White House in some capacity was the release of a rare statement from Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and close adviser, lauding Meadows upon the announcement of his retirement. “Congressman Meadows has been a warrior for the president and a champion for his agenda,” Kushner said. “We have greatly valued his guidance for the last three years in the administration, and I have no doubt that Mark will play an important role going into 2020.”
Two administration sources close to Mulvaney said they had no knowledge of Meadows’s plans, including whether he is seeking Mulvaney’s job. “I have no reason to think it’s a done deal, or even necessarily discussed,” said a White House source.
A source close to Meadows, however, said they believe he is likely to become chief of staff “right after the impeachment trial is done.”
Meadows said he announced the decision to retire this week because there was a Friday filing deadline for seeking reelection. But the source close to Meadows said it also “puts Mick on notice so he leaves on his own accord.”
If Meadows accepted a White House job other than chief of staff, it would be “a Scaramucci move,” said the source close to Meadows, recalling the 2017 staffing shakeup in which Trump hired Anthony Scaramucci, triggering the resignation of spokesman Sean Spicer, who disagreed with the hiring decision.
The speculation follows Mulvaney’s first anniversary of being announced for the job. The former South Carolina congressman was White House budget director before taking the corner office in the West Wing. As of last week, Mulvaney allies and other insiders believed Trump was inclined to keep him in the role through the November election, preferring staff stability amid impeachment and an intensifying reelection campaign.
Some party insiders believe that Meadows could be headed to the Trump campaign. But for now, Meadows’s next act is a mystery. “He’s being very tight-lipped,” a House Republican lawmaker told the Washington Examiner.
