Corey Lewandowski returns to Trump campaign in round of staffing hires

The Trump campaign is bringing on a handful of allies in an official capacity ahead of November’s election, including the former president’s 2016 campaign manager, Corey Lewandowski.

Lewandowski, who has floated in and out of former President Trump’s orbit and been at the center of controversy, will join the ranks of the former president’s 2024 operation as part of a round of staffing hires.

Trump’s 2020 communications director, Tim Murtaugh, will join the campaign, as will Taylor Budowich and Alex Pfeiffer, shifting over from their senior roles with the pro-Trump MAGA Inc. super PAC.

Alex Bruesewitz, a Trump ally who recently weighed a bid for Congress in Wisconsin, will also officially join the campaign.

“As we head into the home stretch of this election, we are continuing to add to our impressive campaign team,” Trump campaign senior aides Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita said in a statement. “Corey Lewandowski, Taylor Budowich, Alex Pfeiffer, Alex Bruesewitz, and Tim Murtaugh are all veterans of prior Trump campaigns and their unmatched experience will help President Trump prosecute the case against Kamala Harris and Tim Walz, the most radical ticket in American history.”

Politico first reported on the staffing hires.

Lewandowski served as Trump’s first campaign chair during the 2016 campaign before he was ousted and eventually replaced by Kellyanne Conway and campaign Chair Paul Manafort.

The Massachusetts native was removed from a top post at a pro-Trump super PAC in 2021 after he was accused by a major donor’s wife of making unwanted advances during an event in Las Vegas.

He had previously worked with the campaign in an advisory role for the Republican convention.

The staffing additions come as Trump looks to get his campaign for the White House back on track as Vice President Harris has wiped out his polling lead and built momentum after replacing President Biden atop the ticket.

Polling published Wednesday from the nonpartisan Cook Political Report showed Harris narrowly leading Trump in five out of seven battleground states likely to decide November’s election: Arizona, Michigan, Wisconsin, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. Trump led Harris in Nevada, while the candidates were tied in Georgia.

Republicans have for days publicly urged Trump to focus more on policy differences with Harris instead of lobbing personal attacks at the vice president.