Rep. Meadows out of running for White House chief of staff: officials

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump told Republican U.S. Representative Mark Meadows that he wants him to stay in Congress rather than take the White House chief of staff job the president is seeking to fill, three senior White House officials said on Wednesday. Meadows had been among 10 or 12 people that Trump is considering for the post that retired General John Kelly is leaving early in 2019. Kelly, Trump's second chief of staff, after Reince Priebus, had tried to bring more discipline to the chaotic Trump White House and frequently found himself at odds with the president. Trump and Meadows, a North Carolina lawmaker who heads the conservative House Freedom Caucus, had a phone conversation to discuss the job, one White House official said. "Congressman Mark Meadows is a great friend to President Trump and is doing an incredible job in Congress. “The president told him we need him in Congress so he can continue the great work he is doing there," the official said. Meadows said in a tweeted statement that he was committed to staying in Congress. "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 going forward," he said. The search to fill the top administrative post in the West Wing comes as Democrats prepare to take control of the House of Representatives in January and begin investigating Trump's businesses and some of his most contentious policies. Trump told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that he was having no trouble recruiting people for one of the most powerful jobs in Washington. Some potential candidates like Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin have offered polite no-thank-yous. “I have so many people, I cannot interview them all,” Trump told Reuters. Trump said last Saturday that Kelly would be departing the job. But he was left without a clear replacement for Kelly after Nick Ayers, currently chief of staff to Vice President Mike Pence, declined the job and said on Sunday he was returning to Georgia with his family at the end of the year. Trump is also considering former campaign adviser Dave Bossier, former New Jersey Governor Chris Christie, U.S. Trade Representative Robert Light, sources said. (Reporting by Steve Holland and Jeff Mason; Editing by Peter Cooney)