President Trump has been soliciting the advice of his former chief of staff Reince Priebus ahead of the 2018 midterms, according to a new report.
Priebus, who was previously chairman of the Republican National Committee, joined Trump for lunch this week and they discussed strategy for the 2018 midterms, the Washington Post reported on Thursday.
Priebus vocalized his concerns about the midterm elections and issued a few warnings to Trump, sources told the Post.
Politico also reported that Priebus met with Trump this week and notes that the two talk regularly.
Priebus left the White House in July and was replaced by John Kelly.
Kelly has complained from time to time about the RNC and its current chairwoman, Ronna Romney McDaniel. Other White House senior advisers have claimed the RNC isn’t stepping up to support Trump and contend that its communications and political operations should be improved.
However, the RNC is also in a tight spot because it’s not uncommon for Trump to suddenly change course, just like he did during the Alabama special Senate election earlier this month.
Initially, Trump backed appointed Sen. Luther Strange, a more traditional Republican candidate favored by RNC leadership, but Strange lost to firebrand Roy Moore in the GOP primary. The RNC fell in line behind Moore, but when allegations of sexual misconduct against Moore surfaced during the race, the RNC pulled its support. But then Trump officially endorsed Moore, meaning the RNC got involved with the Senate race again in early December.
McDaniel has expressed to members of the RNC that sometimes the organization is in disagreement with the White House, according to the Post.
Even so, White House officials are not anticipating any significant reforms at the RNC and say Trump is supportive of McDaniel in private settings. They do assert the administration may try to place additional Trump allies at the organization or gain greater control of the organization.
