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McCarthy hires top Trump official to run political operation

21 March 2021
Dan Ackermann

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has hired former President Trump’s White House political director, Brian Jack, to lead his own political operation, Axios has learned.

Why it matters: The move to bring on Jack underscores McCarthy's strategy of keeping Trump and his orbit close as Republicans seek to retake the House majority in 2022 — and McCarthy achieves his personal goal of becoming speaker.

The backdrop: Jack is one of a small group that worked for Trump through his entire journey — from the golden escalator ride before declaring his candidacy to his final flight on Air Force One.

  • McCarthy (R-Calif.) met Jack through Trump and sees him as an asset for fundraising and recruitment, as well as strategy.
  • Jack remains connected to Trump, who viewed him as his go-to guy for congressional elections during the last cycle.
  • Jack previously held top roles at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee and the Republican National Committee and has worked with several GOP campaigns.

What we're hearing: Talks about a potential job in McCarthy's office began in December, while Trump was still in office.

  • Jack formally started this month.
  • He was initially considered as a candidate to lead the National Republican Campaign Committee but ultimately opted to work directly for McCarthy.
  • Jack will work closely with NRCC staff, as has been the case with aides to past House Republican leaders.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.