A 2021 fundraiser that longtime Republican Michael Allen co-hosted for former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) proved to be detrimental to his role in Donald Trump’s transition, according to a new report.
Allen, who served in various national security policy and legislative positions in the George W. Bush administration, was pushed out as CIA director nominee John Ratcliffe’s “sherpa” because of his help in organizing a fundraiser for prominent Trump critic Cheney, Politico reported.
While Allen had already started putting together meetings on Capitol Hill for Ratcliffe, a Trump loyalist and former Texas congressman, before he was blacklisted from his Trump transition role, sources told the publication that his work was mostly finished when he was driven out.
They added that Allen did a “fine job,” according to the report, with one of the sources pointing out that “there are all sorts of purity tests in this new administration, more so than in the first term.”
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“Still, the ouster appeared to be further evidence of efforts within the president-elect’s orbit to purge Republicans who have supported outspoken critics like Cheney, who voted to impeach Trump and served on the House Jan. 6 committee,” Politico said.
But Allen seemed unphased by his recent banishment from inside the Trump world with the incoming president just days away from reemerging in the White House.
“I was happy to pitch in,” Allen told Politico on Monday after its report was published. “Ratcliffe will make a great CIA director and I’m looking forward to President Trump’s term.”
The Senate Intelligence Committee is taking up Ratcliffe’s confirmation hearing Wednesday. He has so far not received any public support from Democratic lawmakers, Politico noted.
Allen is currently managing director of the advisory firm Beacon Global Strategies.