Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who recently announced he would "actively explore" a presidential bid in 2016, has resigned all of his corporate and nonprofit board memberships his office said late Wednesday night. 

Kristy Campbell, a Bush spokeswoman, said that the resignations are a "natural next step" as Bush "turns his focus to gauging whether there is support for a potential candidacy.

An email sent by a Bush aide to the Washington Post said that Bush was also reviewing his involvement in other businesses in which he is principal partner or owner, such as Jeb Bush & Associates, a consulting firm, and Britton Hill Partnership, a business advisory group that in 2013 set up private-equity funds investing in energy and aviation.

Bush's representatives say that these changes represent his commitment to exploring a return to politics in lieu of business opportunities, but in light of his now former role as paid adviser to a for-profit education company that caters to public universities, could also be a strategic move to mitigate potential complications to promoting his record as an education reformer.

Read more at the Washington Post. 

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