Dan Reilly? Communications director for Rep. Ed Markey.

Richard Cullen? Staff assistant to Rep. Eric Cantor.

Ryan Grim? Congressional correspondent for the Huffington Post (a new position).

Full staff notice, obtained by FishbowlDC, after the jump...

Sorry to play the Grinch, but we have a collection of staff announcements that amount to a big loss of some of our most talented and most enjoyable Politico colleagues.

The loss is tempered by (grudging) recognition that in each case the moves represent personal gains for our friends taking them on paths that make sense for their careers.

*RICHARD CULLEN: Richard is leaving to try a new set of muscles on Capitol Hill as a staff assistant to the House Minority Whip, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-Richard's hometown of Richmond). Richard started out as a VandeHarris assistant, and then made an improbable but successful transition to Web Geek. He has been in charge of Politico's "Playback" video compilation of late-night comedy raps--a Fred Ryan idea that took off. Richard has a good sense of what lines will pop, and this feature grew steadily in daily audience so that many thousands of people now make it a habit each morning. No one takes more seriously Mike Allen's injunction to "win the morning," with the exception of Mike himself. Not by temperament a morning person, Richard retrained himself (with episodic setbacks) to get in the office by 4:30 a.m. to make this feature work. Kim Kingsley and we are deciding next steps over who will take over Playback. Richard is the definition of a good egg, and we'll miss his buoyant presence in the newsroom.

RYAN GRIM: This one stings, since Ryan is not switching career paths, but is going to remain very much in our midst. He is leaving to be congressional correspondent for Huffington Post. As much as we regret it, we can't begrudge it. Ryan shares our fascination with how the Web is changing journalism, and so it is natural that he would find this opportunity--to plant a flag for HuffPo as their first reporter on the Hill--an attractive one. The two of us are admirers of the way Huffington has carved out space in this new media environment, and regard the publication as a kindred spirit of sorts. Which does not mean we won't be hacked off on those occasions when Ryan ends up with some story we want. He's one of the original Capitol Leader hires, which entitles him to lifetime privileges in the Politico gym. We appreciate how Ryan brought his creativity, work ethic, collegiality, and above all his strong writer's voice to the launch of our publication.

DAN REILLY: It's those damn new muscles again. Dan has accepted a job as communications director for Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.). Dan has worked in many roles during his two years at Politico. He's been on Capitol Hill as a keen-eyed and fast-moving breaking news reporter. He's filled in as our assistant at critical times, including playing a major support role in Politico's three presidential debates. Since deciding to look beyond journalism, he's been working on Politico's business side on a variety of assignments, including helping Beth Frerking build the Politico Network with our partner news organizations. Dan also has gym privileges for life: He was the first person hired by Marty Tolchin for the Capitol Leader newsroom. Dan has a superb political mind, and is one of the most conscientious people we've ever worked with. He'll excel at any job he tackles, and we are glad to count him as a friend.

So there you have it. Bah, humbug!

VandeHarris