Allies of President-elect Donald Trump are opening a new front in the MAGA war with traditionalist Republicans: disputing the leadership of the Senate’s main campaign groups.
Usually a little-noticed and relatively drama-free affair, the hiring at the National Republican Senatorial Committee and its Senate Leadership Fund ally, the Republican super PAC, has devolved in recent weeks into disputes over whether potential new leaders are loyal enough to Trump and the movement he created.
And after initially targeting the highest positions, MAGA Republicans’ objections are now extending to even lower-ranking hires. The latest complaint is directed at Brendan Jaspers, who was just named political director of the NRSC for the 2026 midterm elections. The campaign against him has included private efforts to undermine his credentials and, publicly, some social media posts by the Trump’s main allies.
MAGA activists and consultants said their concern about Jaspers stems from his work as campaign director for the anti-tax Club for Growth, which opposed Trump in the 2024 primary before reconciling with him.
“With all the talent available,” said a top Trump 2024 adviser who was granted anonymity to speak candidly, “the NRSC seems more intent on finding people who only directed efforts against President Trump.”
The person argued that Jaspers “did just that.”
Tom Schultz, the club’s vice president of campaigns, refuted that claim, saying that Jaspers’ work focused on Senate and House elections and promoting school choice, and that he “did not participate” in the spending. independents who opposed Trump in the primaries.
Jaspers has quickly become a flashpoint in a broader fight to gain influence in the Senate campaign apparatus. MAGA Republicans have complained about the senator’s hiring choices. Tim Scott (RS.C.), the incoming president of the NRSC. And privately, even some Republican consultants who support Scott are baffled by his decisions that seem aimed at antagonizing Trump’s orbit.
This intra-party war is driven in part by the vacuum caused by the senator. Mitch McConnellTrump’s departure from the Republican leadership, in which some Trump allies have moved to gain an advantage in a post-election power struggle.
Scott, a more traditionalist Republican, angered Trump allies when he tried to bring in as the committee’s executive director a former adviser to former Vice President Mike Pence, who became a staunch critic of Trump after the Jan. 6, 2021, riot in the Capitol.
That assistant, Stephen DeMaura, was just named deputy CEO, while Scott’s former chief of staff, Jennifer DeCasper, was given the CEO job. NOTUS first reported on the measure. DeMaura was expected to take on the role of executive director, and was introduced as such at an NRSC event last month. But his hiring was not publicly announced. And after MAGA activists openly criticized him, that seemed to change: Scott on Thursday announced DeCasper as executive director and DeMaura as his deputy.
A spokesperson for Scott had no comment for this story. in a Press release sent by the NRSC about the new hires, Scott said, “I am excited about the organization we are building, the victories we will put on the board, and the results we will deliver for the American people.” The release also promotes Jaspers. for having “helped elect conservative senators like Ted Budd, mike lee, bernie morenoand Jim Banks.” It said DeMaura “has started, led and grown political organizations of all types over a more than 20-year career in politics and public policy.”
A Scott aide pointed to posts about X that celebrated personnel changes, including those of the senator. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), who called them “a strong MAGA warrior machine.”
The recriminations have not been limited to Scott, who ran against Trump in the 2024 primary before becoming a devoted ally in the general election.
A consultant considered insufficiently loyal by some in Trump’s orbit, Kevin McLaughlin, is also not a candidate to lead the Senate Leadership Fund super PAC, according to two people familiar with the process, despite rumors that he was in the running. mix. People who spoke with McLaughlin said he told them he was running for the seat, prompting threats from close Trump allies that they would form a competitive super PAC, but it’s unclear whether it was ever seriously considered.
McLaughlin told POLITICO that he “had no conversations with anyone” about taking the SLF job and strongly disputes the suggestion that he is not loyal to Trump.
However, the dispute over NRSC hiring has continued and came to light when Chris LaCivita, co-chairman of the Trump campaign, attacked the committee over X.
“Whoever is making decisions at @NRSC needs to have their head examined,” he published.
Meanwhile, Laura Loomer, a far-right activist who traveled on Trump’s plane during the campaign, specifically criticized Jaspers, before his position was announced. leading to X to highlight its connection with the Club for Growth.
Trump and the Club for Growth have a long and complicated history. The Club, a power center for fiscal conservatives, opposed Trump in the 2024 primary. But the group’s president, David McIntosh, and Trump, who once called it the “China Growth Club,” made peace in February.
Trump himself has not weighed in publicly on recent hirings in the Senate Republican caucuses. Complaints about staffing come from people with varying degrees of closeness to the president-elect. And it is possible that some of the disputes are driven more by financial interests and personal grievances of political consultants than by concerns about the party’s ideological purity. According to Scott’s team, he and Trump are in contact about their staffing.
But two people with knowledge of the hiring said some Trump allies wanted Dylan Lefler, the MAGA ally senator’s former campaign manager. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), to be the group’s political director. A Trump spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.
And the infighting underscores the battle to reshape the traditional Republican Party into a party in the mold of the MAGA wing, and marks a stark contrast to the tenure of the outgoing NRSC chairman. Steve Daineswho judiciously courted Trump and his allies as he sought to regain the Senate majority in 2024.
Scott’s hiring moves in particular have surprised some Republican strategists, who see them as unforced errors that spark distracting fights among MAGA loyalists. Scott and Trump have a personal relationship and he was being considered to be vice president. But any discomfort among his top officials could hamper the NRSC in its attempt to increase its majority, especially since there will be many competing demands on the president-elect’s attention to helping various campaign groups with tasks such as fundraising or recruiting.
Scott makes hiring decisions in campaign arm, but incoming Senate Republican leader John Thune will be actively involved in staffing the SLF super PAC.
The SLF was long led by McConnell’s top lieutenants, who played a leading role in selecting aides for Senate campaign groups. The current president of the SLF, Steven Law, announced after the election that he would be stepping down.
The super PAC and its allied nonprofit will direct hundreds of millions of dollars of spending in the Senate races. Former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) was recently named chairman of its board, but the top staff position remains open.
