DeSantis cuts additional campaign staff in effort to ‘streamline operations’

By Steve Contorno and Kit Maher, CNN

(CNN) — Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making additional cuts to his presidential campaign staff, two senior campaign officials told CNN, shrinking his payroll by more than a third as he continues to reboot his struggling White House bid.

The cuts come after the Republican candidate promised to donors over the weekend a “leaner” and more “insurgent” campaign to take on former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP nomination.

Thirty-eight positions across all departments will be impacted, which include previously announced cuts in event planning, bringing the total cuts to more than a third of the campaign’s payroll, the officials said. One of the officials cited “budget” as a reason for the cuts, which were first reported by Politico, after the campaign spent more than $1 million on payroll in its first six weeks.

In a statement to CNN, DeSantis campaign manager Generra Peck said the cuts followed a “top-to-bottom review of our organization.”

“We have taken additional, aggressive steps to streamline operations and put Ron DeSantis in the strongest position to win this primary and defeat Joe Biden,” Peck said. “Governor DeSantis is going to lead the Great American Comeback and we’re ready to hit the ground running as we head into an important month of the campaign.”

Tuesday’s staff purge comes after the campaign attempted more modest cuts to reign in expenses after it spent 40% of the $20 million it raised between entering the race in late May and June 30. Earlier this month, two veterans of his political operation, Dave Abrams and Tucker Obenshain, left the campaign. Days later, a spokesperson for the DeSantis campaign confirmed to CNN it let go some staffers, after Politico reported the campaign cut fewer than 10 staffers in event planning.

As the weeks progressed, though, it became increasingly clear that more changes were necessary to ensure the Florida governor has the resources to mount a challenge to Trump and stave off the rest of the Republican field.

“The campaign had to cut unnecessary expenses,” said Nick Iarossi, a Florida lobbyist and one of DeSantis’ top fundraisers. “The campaign hired way too much staff too quickly and it wasn’t needed. Every dollar we save now, we can spend in early primary states, on ads and other campaign mechanisms. It’s a smarter allocation of resources designed to win.”

However, the pace of the adjustments has frustrated supporters and donors, who have watched with dismay the steady drip of updates about DeSantis’ financial troubles and staffing cuts have overshadowed his campaign for the past two weeks. As concerns have mounted, DeSantis has faced calls for more drastic changes, including replacing Peck. Three people close to the governor’s political operation said Tuesday that is unlikely for now, with all three emphasizing Peck continues to have the trust of DeSantis and, critically, his wife Casey.

“The reset and staff changes will be good for her,” one of those individuals said. “It’s better to do this now than in September.”

But even as the campaign signals financial duress, elsewhere DeSantis continues to spend liberally on expensive accommodations.

Campaign finance records show the campaign spent $87,000 to rent the Stein Eriksen Lodge in Park City, Utah, which describes itself as a five-star hotel and spa. The campaign hosted about 70 donors and fundraisers there over the weekend.

DeSantis has also relied heavily on costly private planes to travel the country, campaign finance reports show, a preference that seems to have continued.

Flight records published on the tracking website FlightAware show a Gulfstream jet filed an itinerary that started Tuesday morning in Tallahassee, Florida, with three planned stops in Tennessee – first in Chattanooga, then in Knoxville and last near Nashville, mirroring DeSantis’ travel during a fundraising blitz through the Volunteer State. Later, after DeSantis’ motorcade was involved in an accident that delayed his travel, another private plane took over the same route and then scheduled a departure Tuesday night from Nashville back to Tallahassee.

One leg of the journey lasted 32 minutes, records show, covering a distance of about 100 miles. Another flight was in the air for 40 minutes.

CNN presented the flight details to DeSantis’ campaign. A spokesman did not respond to a request for comment about the candidate’s travels on Tuesday.

With his campaign in damage-control mode, DeSantis spent the weekend retreat in Utah huddling with top donors and fundraisers.

DeSantis, who has a reputation for ducking out of fundraising events, made his presence felt for most of the weekend, according to a person with knowledge of the event. He joined brainstorming and strategy sessions and met one-on-one with top donors and key staff, which is also atypical, this person said.

In a brainstorming session on Sunday, his campaign also fielded suggestions from donors and bundlers on messaging and debate strategy, including how to best handle Trump, ideas for debate one-liners and what to do if DeSantis’ top rival for the nomination doesn’t show up for the first GOP primary debate in August.

At a Friday news conference ahead of the retreat, DeSantis was asked if his campaign had over-hired. He told reporters his team had “a different model,” with more in-house employees than consultants in comparison to other campaigns.

Later, DeSantis downplayed the concerns stemming from his campaign’s transparent attempts to regain momentum and cut costs.

“At the end of the day, you know, all that stuff is background noise,” DeSantis said. “None of that stuff really impacts people’s lives.”

The-CNN-Wire
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