The ties between President Donald Trump and outside organizations looking to aid his political agenda grew tighter Thursday when a super PAC aligned with the President announced it was hiring his former campaign manager.
Corey Lewandowski, Trump’s outside adviser, will serve as a senior adviser and spokesman for the American First Action super PAC.
Despite getting fired by the Trump campaign in June last year, Lewandowski has maintained close ties to the President and his team. He flew with Trump on Air Force One in July and is said to speak with the President often.
It is unclear whether that contact will continue, given rules that govern contact that super PACs can have with the White House or political candidates.
America First Action is the super PAC arm of America First Policies, an issue advocacy organization that is filled with Trump loyalists and is tasked with pushing Trump’s policies.
Since its creation, the group has served as a stopover for former Trump aides.
Trump campaign aides Rick Gates and David Bossie, two former Trump campaign aides, joined and departed the group earlier this year. Gates, the longtime deputy to Trump’s former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, was forced to leave his position due to his longstanding relationship with Manafort, sources told CNN earlier this year. Manafort’s ties to Russian government interests and his central role in the ongoing investigations into potential collusion between Trump campaign associates and Russian operatives has made him a controversial figure in Trump’s world.
And Katie Walsh served as Trump’s deputy chief of staff before leaving earlier this year to join America First Policies. She has since left the group, joining the Republican National Committee as a senior adviser.
Brian Walsh, the president of America First Action, said Lewandowski’s “spirit, dedication to the President, and policy prowess will make him an invaluable addition to our team.”
Lewandowski said in a statement that it is a “great honor to join the team at America First Action.”
“I look forward to working side by side with these talented individuals to help advance the Trump agenda and elect people who support Making America Great Again,” he added.
America First Action has tried to help Trump political through media buys and ad campaigns backing candidates who Trump has endorsed.
After the President endorsed Sen. Luther Strange, an Alabama Republican, the group launched a $200,000 digital ad campaign backing the senator in the state’s Republican primary. Strange went on to place second in the primary, meaning he will compete in a runoff with Roy Moore.
