Cruz moves chief of staff to campaign arm

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is moving his chief of staff over to his political operation, a signal he could be preparing for a 2016 presidential bid.

Cruz’s office announced Wednesday that chief of staff Chip Roy will assume the title of senior adviser and will take a larger role with the senator’s campaign arm.

{mosads}“Throughout our work together in the Senate, Chip Roy has played a vital role in the battles we’ve waged, the mountains we’ve climbed and our remarkable successes,” Cruz said in a statement. “So I’m very pleased that he will be applying his exceptional talents and passion toward fighting for conservative principles through our campaign arm.”

Roy has led Cruz’s official office since the Texas senator was first elected in 2012. 

“I look forward to continuing to work to expand the messages of freedom, opportunity, and limited government to more Americans as part of Sen. Cruz’s political team,” Roy said in a statement.

Paul Teller will take over as chief of staff. Teller was hired as Cruz’s deputy chief of staff in January, after he was fired from the Republican Study Committee. Cruz also hired James Christoferson as deputy chief of staff for operations. He previously worked for former Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-Texas).

Other Republicans considering presidential runs, including Sens. Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Rand Paul (Ky.), have made similar staff moves.