Marc Short, the chief of staff to former US Vice President Mike Pence, privately testified before a January 6 grand jury, media reports show. The 52-year-old was in the Capitol complex on the day of the riots, hiding with the Vice President.

While details about his testimony are unclear, Marc Short revealed that this was the first time he spoke to the grand jury. Short, however, has cooperated in a separate House committee investigation of the insurrection.

Also Read: Capitol hearings: The 187 minutes that shook the United States

Who is Marc Short?

Marc Short, a native of Virginia, currently lives in the Arlington area along with his wife and three children. He graduated from Washington and Lee University and then went on to pursue his master’s degree from Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.

Before joining former President Donald Trump‘s administration, Short was associated with various federal, legislative and private offices. He was hired by the US Department of Homeland Security after completing his graduation. 

Marc Short then jumped ship and started working for Kay Bailey Hutchison, who was a Texas Senator at the time. He was then roped in by then-Congressman Mike Pence, who later named him chief of staff for the House Republican Conference in 2009.

Also Read: Why top Trump campaign officials were unhappy with his response to Jan 6

Trump administration

Marc Short’s time in the former President’s administration has been full of ups and downs. He was named as the Director of Legislative Affairs days before Trump took office. However, he later quit his White House job after citing his distrust of Trump’s agendas.

In 2019, he was roped in as the Chief of Staff by then Vice President Mike Pence and headed his office’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Marc Short said in an interview that Trump banned him from the White House’s west wing, which houses the Oval Office. Short advised Pence to not play along with Trump’s claims of “rigged elections”, according to his testimony before the January 6 committee.