Donald Trump

Hiring of Ex-Trump Official Criticized by Some at University of Virginia

A petition is calling on the University of Virginia to revoke the teaching appointment of a departing member of President Donald Trump's administration.

More than 1,300 people signed an online petition on Change.org before Saturday afternoon. Marc Short served as Trump's legislative affairs director until Friday.

The petition is signed by faculty and students still angry about the president's response to last year's white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, where a woman was killed.

In a statement, Short says: "There is irony at Thomas Jefferson's university that professors are seeking to silence debate instead of fostering civil conversations."

Short was hired to serve as a senior fellow at the Miller Center, a nonpartisan affiliate of the university that focuses on presidential scholarship and public policy.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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