Ron DeSantis, currently Trump's top competitor for the 2024 Republican nomination for president, has reportedly fired 12 staffers and has plans to continue the trend.
DeSantis, who was recently asked by GOP officials in a Florida county to ban a vaccine as a "biological weapon," has now cut several "mid-level" staffers as a means to save money, according to NBC.
"Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign has fired roughly a dozen staffers — and more are expected in the coming weeks as he shakes up his big-money political operations after less than two months on the campaign trail," Matt Dixon, Allan Smith and Jonathan Allen reported Saturday for NBC. "Those who were let go were described to NBC News by a source familiar as mid-level staffers across several departments whose departures were related to cutting costs. The exits come after the departures of David Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, veterans of DeSantis’ political orbit, which were first reported by Politico."
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The changes are being cast as the result of hiring too many staffers too early, but DeSantis has also been struggling in the polls and has been dealt a series of bad hands in Florida.
"Sources involved with the DeSantis campaign say there is an internal assessment among some that they hired too many staffers too early, and despite bringing in $20 million during its first six weeks, it was becoming clear their costs needed to be brought down," NBC reported. "Some in DeSantis’ political orbit are laying the early blame at the feet of campaign manager Generra Peck, who also led DeSantis’ 2022 midterm reelection bid and is in the hot seat right now."
