President Donald Trump distanced himself from the outside work of a pair of top allies, floating the prospect of firing them after a report about their work for a pro-Russian government in an election in the Balkans.
Trump, in a Truth Social post Wednesday, downplayed the paid consultant work of Chris LaCivita and James Blair. LaCivita was Trump’s co-campaign manager in 2024, while Blair was his top political official before leaving the White House for a role with the president’s political group.
The New York Times reported that both men were paid to travel over the weekend to Republika Srpska, in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to provide election advice to a pro-Russian governing party in an election.
“Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants. They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants. They most likely have numerous clients,” Trump said. “I do not have any idea who else they work for but will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!”
Speaking to reporters later Wednesday, Trump said he saw no conflict of interest in the two men’s work.
“They don’t have a conflict because they are independent people,” the president said. “They don’t work in the White House. They’re not sitting around a cabinet table or anything like that.”
The remarks come as Republicans face headwinds in US elections weeks from now, with Trump and his allies looking to buck history and limit what are typically losses for the president’s party in a midterm vote. Trump has, for instance, urged the Republican faithful to vote as if he were on the ballot — a request that some Democrats have seized upon to amplify, hoping the president’s low approval rating will support their own candidacy.
Blair took a leave of absence as deputy White House chief of staff to serve a top role at MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, where LaCivita is also an adviser. Trump has said Blair will return to the White House after the election.
In a vote Sunday, Savo Minic was elected as the new president of Republika Srpska, an entity affiliated with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Read more: Donald Trump’s Promises Foster Rare Unity in Divided Bosnia
Dodik stepped down as president of Republika Srpska, the half of Bosnia-Herzegovina run by Bosnian Serbs, last year in exchange for the US dropping sanctions against him.
Blair and LaCivita were on the ground for two days over the weekend and viewed Minic as pro-Trump, a person familiar with their travel said, speaking on condition of anonymity. The two were hired by an American law firm to advise on election integrity issues, including related to the use of Smartmatic machines, the person said.
Blair and LaCivita worked throughout the weekend, including on ongoing US races as well as Republican strategy and tactics in those, another person familiar with the matter said.