Josh Pitcock
{{Short description|American politician}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name = Josh Pitcock
| image = Josh Pitcock (cropped).jpg
| office = Chief of Staff to the Vice President
| vicepresident = Mike Pence
| term_start = January 20, 2017
| term_end = July 28, 2017
| predecessor = Steve Ricchetti
| successor = Nick Ayers
| birth_date =
| birth_place =
| death_date =
| death_place =
| spouse = {{marriage|Katherine A. Seaman|July 30, 2007}}
| party = Republican
| education = DePauw University (BA)
Wake Forest University (JD)
| caption = Pitcock in 2017
}}
Joshua Matthew Pitcock is an American political operative who served as chief of staff to Mike Pence, the Vice President of the United States, from January 2017 to July 2017. Pitcock has also been Assistant to the President. He was a member of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential transition team.{{cite web|last1=Nussbaum|first1=Matthew|title=Pence expected to name Josh Pitcock as chief of staff|url=https://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2017/01/josh-pitcock-mike-pence-chief-of-staff-233134|work=Politico|date=January 3, 2017|access-date=February 4, 2017}}
Early life and education
In 1994, Pitcock graduated from Anderson High School in Anderson, Indiana. Pitcock was a political science major and Asian Studies minor at DePauw University, where he was a diver. He graduated from there in 1998. He went on to earn a J.D. degree from Wake Forest University.{{cite web |title=Josh Pitcock '98 is Chief of Staff to VP-Elect Mike Pence |url=http://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/32801/ |date=January 6, 2017 |accessdate=February 4, 2017 |website=depauw.edu |archive-date=November 6, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211106214102/https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/32801/ |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |last1=De La Bastide |first1=Ken |title=Anderson native Josh Pitcock, right, has been named Vice President-elect Mike Pence's chief of staff |url=http://www.heraldbulletin.com/news/local_news/anderson-resident-named-pence-s-chief-of-staff/article_b132353e-d441-11e6-9e4d-43f958a29e51.html |date=January 6, 2017 |accessdate=February 4, 2017 |website=heraldbulletin.com}}
Career
Pitcock served as an aide to Mike Pence during his time in the United States House of Representatives and eventually became his chief of staff there. After Pence was elected governor of Indiana in 2012, Pitcock stayed in Washington, D.C. during Pence's governorship, serving as the state's lobbyist. Pitcock served as a senior policy adviser to Pence throughout the campaign and the transition. Having navigated the Hill with Pence before, he was seen as the natural choice to help Pence in his expected role as liaison between Congressional Republicans and the president.{{cite web |last1=Weller |first1=Mark |title=The man behind the man behind the man: Pence chief Josh Pitcock |url=http://www.policysoapbox.com/elections-and-federal/man-behind-man-behind-man-pence-chief-josh-pitcock/ |date=January 10, 2017 |accessdate=February 4, 2017|website=policysoapbox.com}}
=Trump presidential transition team=
Pitcock was a member of Donald Trump's presidential transition team. The transition team was a group of around 100 aides, policy experts, government affairs officials, and former government officials who were tasked with vetting, interviewing, and recommending individuals for top cabinet and staff roles in Trump's administration. He was part of the leadership staff.
=Chief of Staff to the Vice President=
In January 2017, Pitcock was appointed as Pence's chief of staff.{{cite web|url=http://www.indystar.com/story/news/politics/behind-closed-doors/2017/01/25/pence-tapping-former-aides-and-some-lobbyists-vp-office-staff/97058968/|title=Pence tapping former aides, and some lobbyists, for VP office staff|work=Indianapolis Star|first=Maureen|last=Groppe|date=January 25, 2017|accessdate=February 7, 2017}} Pitcock's tenure in the White House was always meant to be temporary, as he stayed on through the transition period and the first few months of the Trump administration, before stepping down during the summer.{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/29/us/politics/mike-pence-josh-pitcock-chief-of-staff.html|title=Pence to Replace His Chief of Staff|work=New York Times|first=Maggie|last=Haberman|date=June 29, 2017|accessdate=May 25, 2018}} He was succeeded in the position by Nick Ayers, another longtime Pence advisor.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/29/mike-pence-staff-shakeup-nick-ayers-vice-presidents-chief-staff/439727001/|title=Mike Pence's first major staff shakeup: Josh Pitcock out, Nick Ayers in as chief of staff|work=USA Today|first=Maureen|last=Groppe|date=June 29, 2017|accessdate=May 25, 2018}} In October 2017, Pitcock was appointed vice president of government affairs at Oracle, a multinational computer technology corporation based in California.{{cite web|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/10/10/josh-pitcock-to-oracle-243640|title=Former Pence aide Pitcock joining Oracle|work=Politico|first1=Nancy|last1=Cook|first2=Anna|last2=Palmer|date=October 10, 2017|accessdate=May 25, 2018}}
=Personal life=
Pitcock married Katherine A. Seaman on June 30, 2007, in Washington, D.C.{{cite news|url=https://issuu.com/dpupublications/docs/spring2008 |title=Depauw Magazine Spring 2008 |author=DePauw University Publications |accessdate=November 15, 2011}}{{cite news|url=http://altgov2.org/wp-content/uploads/Pitcock-Joshua-CD-052.pdf |title=Seaman Certificate of Divestiture |author=United States Office of Government Ethics |accessdate=April 25, 2019}}
References
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{{s-bef|before=Steve Ricchetti}}
{{s-ttl|title=Chief of Staff to the Vice President|years=2017}}
{{s-aft|after=Nick Ayers}}
{{s-end}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pitcock, Josh}}
Category:DePauw University alumni
Category:First Trump administration personnel
Category:Chiefs of staff to the vice president of the United States