Axios: Gov. DeSantis Hires Laid-Off Campaign Staffers

After Florida GOP Gov. Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign cut staff recently, his office reportedly hired laid-off workers in jobs with the state.

James Uthmeier, DeSantis’ chief of staff, reached out to former campaign staffers to apply for jobs at his office, and three were hired, sources told Axios.

The effort came after DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck laid off about three dozen staffers as the reboot sought to cut costs and lean more heavily on the pro-DeSantis Never Back Down PAC to carry the flag for DeSantis’ fledgling and costly presidential campaign.

The tone of Axios’ report suggests a conflict of interest – and potential taxpayer-funded stashing of campaign operatives – in inviting campaign staff operatives to apply for jobs that would be paid with taxpayer funds. But it’s not uncommon for campaign workers to apply for and accept official government jobs in an administration.

Sources told Axios they had emails from the governor’s office encouraging out-of-work campaign staffers to apply for jobs in Uthmeier’s office.

Uthmeier and DeSantis’ office did not respond to Axios’ request for comment. A DeSantis campaign official declined Newsmax’s request for comment.

The report indicated social media influencer Will Chamberlain and his wife Jordan Chamberlain were among the three hired by the governor’s office recently. Will Chamberlain has been credited with having helped the hashtag #stopthesteal go viral in November 2020 when he worked with the Trump administration.

Notably, former campaign staffers are restricted by federal law from joining a political action committee for at least 120 days after leaving a campaign.