Pence’s chief of staff denied entry into WH: Trump ‘blaming me’
Philip Wegmann tweeted Marc Short 'tells me he is not allowed back on White House grounds.'
President Donald Trump reportedly banned Marc Short, the chief of staff for Vice President Mike Pence, from the West Wing of the White House yesterday.
According to CNN, Short was seen walking into the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on Wednesday. That building is a separate structure from the White House and is where the vice presidential offices are.
Reporters are tweeting that Short confirmed the report.
“CONFIRMED,” noted Real Clear News’ Philip Wegmann on Twitter. “Short tells me he is not allowed back on White House grounds: ‘He’s blaming me for advice to VP.'”
Wegmann added in a follow-up tweet: “The ‘he’ here is Donald Trump.”
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The most recent message from Short’s Twitter account — which is his name and the number 45, signifying President Trump — are of Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence receiving the coronavirus vaccine in mid-December.
But he more recently expressed his boss’ intention to question November’s election results.
Earlier this week, Short said, “Vice President Pence shares the concerns of millions of Americans about voter fraud and irregularities in the last election.”
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His quote, shared on Twitter by Jonathan Swan of Axios, continued: “The Vice President welcomes the efforts of members of the House and Senate to use the authority they have under the law to raise objections and bring forward evidence before the Congress and the American people on January 6th.”
Prior to his role in the Trump administration, 50-year-old Short was a CNN contributor and chief of staff for Pence when he was an Indiana congressman. Before joining the vice president’s office, he served as White House legislative director.
As a college student, the Virginia native disparaged people living with HIV and AIDS. He apologized for those remarks upon assuming his position with Pence in 2019.
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In October of 2020, Short tested positive for COVID-19. His infection prompted the vice president to briefly quarantine just prior to the 2020 presidential election in early November.
Pence had no power to delay or reject what was supposed to be Wednesday’s ceremonial Electoral College certification of the 2020 election results in Congress.
However, incited by President Trump, thousands of domestic terrorists surged into, occupied and ransacked offices in the United States Capitol Building, which had not been breached for more than 200 years.
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