Meadows out of running for chief of staff

"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," White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said in a statement.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Meadows is out of the running for the position.

"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 moving forward," Meadows said in a statement.

The withdrawal comes just a day after Trump said in an interview with Reuters that Meadows was in the running for the position and called him "a great guy."

Trump declined to name all the candidates, but also talked up David Bossie, his former deputy campaign manager, as a "friend of mine," though a source familiar with the discussions told CNN on Tuesday that Bossie -- who has a previously scheduled lunch with Trump on Friday -- is unlikely to be tapped for the job.

The President was left in the lurch after Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff Nick Ayers declined to take the position of White House chief of staff because Trump was asking for a two-year commitment.

Trump told Reuters on Tuesday that there are "at least 10, 12 -- 12 people that want it badly" and said he is "in no rush" to name a chief of staff.

A front-runner for the position has yet to publicly emerge, but Trump is reportedly considering others including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, OMB Director Mick Mulvaney, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and US Trade Representative Bob Lighthizer, though several of those candidates have already indicated they are not interested in the post.