The Republican National Committee began laying off dozens of employees a few days later, on Monday. donald trumpA hand-picked team has taken the reins of the organization, according to two Republican operatives familiar with the layoffs.
Officials said the layoffs will affect employees in multiple departments. One Republican operative said the cuts would not only affect senior staff, but also vendors and mid-level employees. Vendor contracts will likely also be reduced.
Some employees who were asked to resign were able to reapply for jobs with the organization.
It is not uncommon for national committees to undergo staff changes after a party has a de facto or official presidential candidate, but the depth of these cuts is beyond normal. It highlights the slump in fundraising the committee has been experiencing of late.
politiko first reported Regarding dismissal.
Leaders in the communications, political and data teams were let go, according to Republican lawmakers with knowledge of the layoffs.
Last week, the 168 RNC members elected North Carolina Republican Party Chairman Michael Whatley as their new chair, replacing Ronna McDaniel. Chris Lacivita, co-campaign manager for the Trump campaign, also joined the RNC as chief operating officer while continuing to work for the campaign. Lacivita immediately brought in Sean Cairncross, who has held positions in the organization, as number two.
“Chairman Whatley is evaluating the organization and staff to ensure the building is consistent with his vision for a win in November,” Cairncross said in an email to staff on Monday. It’s in progress,” he wrote.
In an email obtained by CNN, Cairncross continued: “During this process, some staff members have been asked to resign and reapply for positions on the team.”
In an email, he said the last day of employment for staff who choose not to reapply will be March 31.
Some of the most significant cuts were made to the data and political departments, as well as state secretaries and regional political directors. The election integrity department was left untouched, according to Republicans familiar with the cuts. Going forward, the digital and finance teams will be based in Palm Beach, the Republican said.
The cuts reflect the involvement of two factions: the RNC and the Trump campaign.
The former president and his team have expressed a strong interest in working closely with the organization and the presidential campaign, and Mr. Trump himself has a reputation for taking a keen interest in pursuing claims of voter fraud. I was drawn to running him as RNC chairman.
The commission has also struggled to raise funds, experiencing one of the lowest fundraising periods in decades.
Lara Trump, the former president’s daughter-in-law, has been selected as co-chair and is expected to focus on fundraising and public appearances. Mr. Whatley is positioned to take on a more important role in leading the organization and enforcing the president’s intent to ensure the organization pursues claims of voter fraud in the election.
By Monday night, the cuts had led some Republican operatives to question the RNC’s future capabilities. The cuts to programs not directly related to election integrity raised questions about the RNC’s ability to perform over the remainder of its term, particularly in terms of conducting ground operations to support presidential campaigns.
Biden campaign officials said in a statement to CNN that the re-election campaign has 100 staff members on the ground in battleground states.
“We continue to strengthen our physical presence with the opening of 100 offices and at least 350 new staff members this month,” a Biden campaign aide said. “Our battlefield staff utilize this volunteer base for regular training and through moments of mass mobilization like the anniversary of the Affordable Care Act. Donald Trump has not announced staff or programs and will inherit virtually zero infrastructure from a hollowed-out state party.”
This story has been updated with additional details.
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