Oct 16, 2020 - Politics & Policy

Kushner and McDaniel bring back Katie Walsh Shields to offer strategic advice

Jared Kushner

Jared Kushner. Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

In recent days, Jared Kushner has brought back 2016 Republican National Committee chief of staff Katie Walsh Shields to offer strategic advice in the RNC's collaboration with the Trump campaign, according to two senior administration officials and a senior campaign official briefed on the move.

  • A senior administration official said Kushner made the decision in conjunction with RNC chair Ronna Romney McDaniel.

Why it matters: Walsh played a key role in 2016 in ensuring that the RNC and Trump campaign were efficiently sharing voter targeting data and working in tandem in their get-out-the-vote efforts.

  • Several campaign advisers have told me that they believe this coordination between the campaign and the RNC has not worked well in recent months, especially following Brad Parscale's demotion as campaign manager.
  • Walsh declined to comment.

The big picture: The Trump campaign has been struggling for months, lagging in national and battleground state polls and Kushner has been seeking advice and fresh ideas from outside advisers, according to sources familiar with these conversations.

Go deeper: Read Axios' story on the recriminations inside Trumpworld as the race enters its final weeks.

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