Western North Carolina Republican Congressman Mark Meadows will not be President Donald Trump's next chief of staff. The chair of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus was among those being considered to replace John Kelly, who is expected to leave the post soon. The Wall Street Journal was the first to report that Meadows was out of the running to be chief of staff.
Meadows, who was just elected to a fourth term last month representing North Carolina's 11th District, has become one of President Trump's top confidant's in DC. Several outlets reported that in a statement, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said the president had told Meadows "we need him in Congress" where he has been one of the president's biggest supporters.
In his own statement emailed Wednesday afternoon, Meadows said, “I’ve had the best job in the world, representing the people of western North Carolina and working alongside President Trump these last two years to give the forgotten men and women of America a voice in their government. I’m fully committed to continuing in both of those roles. I know the President has a long list of tremendous candidates for his next Chief of Staff, and whomever it is will have my total support moving forward.”