Randy Levine downplays Trump chief of staff rumors, 'very happy' with Yankees

New York Yankees President Randy Levine on Monday said the White House has not contacted him about potentially serving as President Trump’s next chief of staff.

“I have spoken to nobody about the chief of staff job,” Levine told Fox News correspondent Ed Henry. “I have great respect for the president but am very happy being president of the Yankees.”

NBC reported earlier Monday that Levine was on the short list of candidates who could replace John Kelly as Trump’s chief of staff when he steps down from the post later this year. A prominent Trump supporter, Levine has served as the Yankees’ president since 2000.

The Yankees did not immediately return a request for comment on Levine’s apparent candidacy.

Levine’s tenure as Yankees president has included the launch of the YES Network, the team’s broadcast channel, as well as the new Yankee Stadium in 2009. The Yankees are currently worth about $4 billion, according to Forbes, making them the MLB’s most valuable franchise.

Aside from his credentials in the sports world, Levine served as deputy mayor to Rudy Giuliani and as an associate attorney general during former President Ronald Reagan’s administration in the 1980s, the New York Post reported.

Other candidates rumored to be Trump’s new chief of staff include Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., White House Budget Director Mick Mulvaney and Trump’s 2016 deputy campaign manager, David Bossie.