In yet another staffing changeup, Donald Trump on Thursday hired veteran Republican strategist and Citizens United president David Bossie as deputy campaign manager.
“A friend of mine for many years,” Trump told the Washington Post’s Robert Costa, who broke the story of Bossie’s hiring. “Solid. Smart. Loves politics, knows how to win.”
Bossie will reportedly assist recently hired campaign manager Kellyanne Conway with managing operations and strategic planning, according to the Post. Conway has spent much of her time since joining the campaign in August promoting Trump’s policies and defending him in on-camera press appearances. She came aboard at the same time as Breitbart News chairman Steve Bannon, who is serving as the campaign’s CEO.
According to the Post, Bossie, who has spent two decades investigating and digging up opposition research on the Clinton family, will also be tasked with organizing attacks against Hillary Clinton. During Bill Clinton’s administration, Bossie looked into the then-president’s campaign finances and involvement with the Whitewater real estate scandal as chief investigator for then-House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Rep. Dan Burton (R-IN), according to CBS. Since June, Bossie has run the “Defeat Crooked Hillary” super PAC, the Post reported.
Bossie will take a leave of absence from Citizens United to join the Trump campaign in their New York office until election day, according to the Post. His group is best known as the force behind the momentous Supreme Court case that resulted in a 2010 ruling that lifted restrictions on political spending for corporations and unions.
According to the Post, Bossie has longstanding working relationships with Conway and Bannon, as well as ousted campaign manager Corey Lewandowski.
In a statement sent Thursday condemning the hire, Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair John Podesta called Bossie “craven and maniacal.”
“For months now, Citizens United has been acting as an arm of the Trump campaign, and this hiring of Bossie now makes it official,” Podesta said. “This is just the latest sign that Donald Trump has put the most extreme elements of the right-wing fringe in the driver’s seat of his campaign.”
