Associated Press national political editor Liz Sidoti is resigning from her post to take a job as head of communications for BP's U.S. operations, based in Washington.

Sidoti will stop directing the AP's political coverage effective immediately and will likely leave in a few days, AP spokesperson Paul Colford said. Washington news editor David Pace will serve as interim editor while the AP searches for a permanent replacement.

In a memo to staff, Washington bureau chief Sally Buzbee explained that after 15 years as a reporter and editor, Sidoti wanted to take on "a new challenge" and develop business skills.

Sidoti has tangentially covered BP in the past. During and after the BP Gulf oil spill in 2010, she helped cover BP's hearings on Capitol Hill and how the oil spill affected President Barack Obama's first term.

"Liz began with the AP in Cincinnati as a relief staffer in 1999 and it wasn't long before she was knocking on the door for a job in Washington," Buzbee wrote. "She later became AP's national political correspondent, and from that, she took on the role of national political editor in early 2011."

(h/t HuffPo)

Update 12/17: 

Geoff Morrell, BP's Senior Vice President of U.S. Communications & External Affairs, said in a statement Sidoti is a "total pro" and the "consummate storyteller" who will help"people better understand BP’s commitment to America and its role as the nation’s top energy investor.”

See the full BP internal memo below:

Please join me in welcoming Liz Sidoti to BP, where she will serve as Head of Communications within the new Communications & External Affairs team. Liz, who joins us effective December 31, will report directly to me out of the Washington office and be a member of the C&EA leadership team.

Liz joins us after nearly 15 years with The Associated Press, where she most recently served as the international news cooperative’s national political editor. A native of Ohio, Liz began her journalism career at local newspapers in that state, joining the AP in Cincinnati in 1999. 

She spent several years covering Ohio politics for AP before becoming a Washington-based national political writer in 2003. She has covered both the White House and Congress, where she focused for two years on national security and foreign affairs issues, and she has reported from the road during multiple congressional and presidential campaigns. In 2009, Liz was named chief political writer for the AP and was elevated to national political editor two years later.

Her deep understanding of the way the news media operate on a national and local basis, her first-hand knowledge of digital and social media and her innate understanding of the way successful campaigns operate will serve her and all of C&EA well. She inherits a highly skilled group of communications professionals who I know will support her and all of us as we launch our new fully integrated Communications & External Affairs team. 

Geoff Morrell
SVP, US Communications & External Affairs