Marc Short

Short was born in Virginia. He graduated from Washington and Lee University in 1992.

Early 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. In 1998, the group purchased the Reagan Ranch in California, 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. The Shorts then returned to Virginia, where he received his MBA from the University of Virginia.

Following his graduation, Short worked for the Bush administration's Department of Homeland Security as a spokesperson. 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.

Freedom Partners

Short was then hired by Freedom Partners, a 501(c)(6) Koch Brothers political fund, to oversee the spending of money raised at donor summits. for five years. He served as the organization's President from 2012 to 2015. A June 2012 Politico article described Short as one of the Koch's "liaisons to Washington's professional conservative class." He represented the Kochs at meetings for the Karl Rove-led Weaver Terrace Group. According to the National Review, in February 2016, Short presented Charles Koch with a "eight-figure blueprint for derailing" Donald Trump's presidential campaign through a series of negative ads on Super Tuesday. Executives and advisors representing Koch's corporate interests opposed the move and the proposal was refused.

2016 presidential campaign

A week later, on February 23, 2016, Short left his position at Freedom Partners and joined Senator Marco Rubio's presidential campaign as a senior advisor. On June 16, 2016, Short was named to the campaign staff of Pence, serving as his communications adviser.

Trump administration

Short was named Director of Legislative Affairs in the Trump administration on January 4, 2017. He reports to Deputy Chief for Intergovernmental Affairs Rick Dearborn. Short, Dearborn, and Andrew Bremberg, coordinated with aides of Senator Mitch McConnell in employing the Congressional Review Act to reverse 13 regulations made late in the presidency of Barack Obama by creating an Excel spreadsheet of targets, eventually being able to eliminate over twice as many regulations as they had anticipated.

Short married Kristen Short in 1997. They have three children and live in Arlington, Virginia.