Jim Bourg/Reuters
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rick Dearborn will step down early next year to pursue work in the private sector, Chief of Staff John Kelly announced Thursday. Dearborn, who oversaw the Trump administration’s political operation, public outreach, and legislative affairs, will stick around for a month or two next year before leaving, The Wall Street Journal reports. “Rick loyally served the president for two and a half years and brought tremendous energy to the White House staff,” Kelly said Thursday. While Dearborn reportedly told White House officials he saw the passage of the GOP’s tax-overhaul bill as a finale for his tenure, his time on Trump’s team was also marked by a few embarrassing defeats, most notably Republican Roy Moore’s recent loss to Democrat Doug Jones in Alabama’s Senate election. News of Dearborn’s departure comes after Dina Powell, the deputy national security adviser, informed President Trump this month that she would be leaving next year.