Key Trump adviser temporarily steps away from White House to lead Midterm strategy

James Blair, deputy chief of staff for legislative, political, and public affairs, will temporarily leave the White House. He is a key adviser to Donald Trump, who will move to work full time on the campaign leading up to the midterm elections, which will take place on Nov. 3.

Blair, 36, joined Trump's team in 2023 from Susie Wiles. The two worked together in 2020, running the then-president's campaign in Florida. In 2024, he was named political director of Trump's presidential campaign. Previously, he was deputy chief of staff to Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and political director of the Florida Republican Party's legislative arm.

Over the years, he became one of the most trusted men for Trump, who has repeatedly singled him out for his work. On his Truth Social account, the president announced that Blair would temporarily leave the White House to focus fully on the political strategy for the midterm elections.

"He would oversee the president’s entire political operation from the outside as well as midterm spending, according to a person familiar with the discussions and granted anonymity to describe them," Politico reported.

MAGA Inc., the super PAC aligned with the president, closed 2025 with $300 million in cash, which it hopes will help Republicans retain both the Senate and House in 2026. Notable donors include Greg Brockman, Konstantin Sokolov and Jared Isaacman.

"Now, James will be taking a short leave of absence to lead the charge from the outside against the Radical Left, Country Destroying Democrats. He will do a fantastic job and then, after the Election, return again to the White House so we can finish the job and KEEP AMERICA GREAT!" noted Trump on Truth Social.

Susie Wiles also commented on Blair's move. "James is a top lieutenant of the President’s and has been invaluable to me for the better part of a decade. (...) Consideration of the best way to deploy a most valuable political asset for success in the midterms is a common-sense and obvious thing to do," she told Politico.