Trump chief of staff says he won't run for Senate in 2022; Lara Trump reportedly considering bid

White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows this week said he has no intentions to run for Senate in North Carolina in 2022, potentially signaling a more viable path for presidential daughter-in-law Lara Trump to make a bid for that office.

Meadows was rumored to be a potential candidate to replace Republican Sen. Richard Burr, who has announced that he will not run for a fourth Senate term in North Carolina in two years.

But Meadows this week confirmed that he is not seeking that position either. "I love the people of North Carolina," he told media on Friday. "But I not only have no plans, I have no intentions to run for the Senate in 2022."

That withdrawal may signal an easier path to the Senate for Lara Trump, President Trump's daughter-in-law and wife of Eric Trump. Media reports have claimed she is considering a Senate run in that state.

Eric and Lara currently live in Westchester, N.Y., though Lara originally hails from Wilmington, N.C.