Sen. Tim Scott has tapped a longtime aide for a senior leadership position at the National Republican Senatorial Committee, according to four sources with knowledge of the move. The decision, which would override a staffing plan A that deeply frustrated MAGA operatives, is an attempt to quell criticism that the senator is naming operatives skeptical of Donald Trump to lead the key political group, some of those sources said.
Whether Scott’s latest move will soothe tensions or further inflame them remains an open question — one that has caught the attention of even senior leaders from Trump’s presidential campaign.
Scott is expected to name his former Senate chief of staff, Jennifer DeCasper, to a senior leadership job at the NRSC, with three sources saying the position is likely to be executive director. DeCasper served as the manager for Scott’s presidential campaign last year and has worked for the senator for more than a decade, starting when he was a member of the House.
The decision to install DeCasper came after NOTUS reported last month that Scott was set to name Stephen DeMaura, the former manager of Mike Pence’s 2024 presidential campaign, as the committee’s executive director. The development angered some online Trump supporters who considered DeMaura insufficiently loyal to the president-elect.
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Sources said that following the backlash, DeMaura will likely take a lesser position at the committee but is still expected to play a key role.
But some GOP and Trumpworld operatives seethed as word of DeCasper’s ascension spread this week.
“Whoever is making decisions at the @NRSC needs their head examined …..” Trump’s co-campaign manager Chris LaCivita posted on X on Wednesday.
Two sources told NOTUS that LaCivita’s post was in reference to the hires the NRSC has made.
Other Republicans dismissed the criticism of Scott’s staffing and said the NRSC has a good relationship with Trump and his political operation.
“Senate Republicans are more aligned than ever to advance Trump’s agenda and win,” said a source familiar with Senate leadership. “So it is abundantly clear anyone complaining is only working to advance their personal financial interest.”
The frustration over Scott’s NRSC selections is reflective of both ongoing tensions between Trump’s MAGA-supporting base and traditional, establishment Republicans and concern over the party’s tenuous position in the Senate heading into the next midterm election.
Although the GOP will have a 53-member majority come January, it will have to defend seats in 2026 in states like Maine, North Carolina, Ohio and Iowa that Democrats believe they could win if aided by a favorable political climate. The possibility isn’t so far-fetched: The first midterm elections after Trump’s 2016 win ushered in a Democratic House.
“Can’t hire people who ran campaigns against the president, and then after primary did nothing to help him,” one source close to Trump said.
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Reese Gorman and Alex Roarty are reporters at NOTUS.
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