James Blair Considering Temporary White House Departure For Trump’s Political Operation

White House deputy chief of staff James Blair is considering a temporary leave of absence to run President Donald Trump’s political operation for the midterms, White House chief of staff Susie Wiles confirmed in a statement to POLITICO.

Blair and Wiles are weighing the move, which would keep open Blair’s White House position. He would oversee the president’s entire political operation from the outside as well as midterm spending, according to a person familiar with the discussions and granted anonymity to describe it.

“James is a top lieutenant of the President's and has been invaluable to me for the better part of a decade. That is the frame from which we are considering our options,” Wiles said. “Consideration of the best way to deploy a most valuable political asset for success in the midterms is a common sense and obvious thing to do.”

It's the clearest sign yet the White House wants a unified approach to spending and strategy ahead of the midterms. Blair, who was political director of the 2024 Trump campaign and has run the White House political operation, has been responsible for Trump’s 2026 midterm strategy.

When they first met, the president initially had his doubts about Blair, in part because he was so quiet. But, the president came around to calling him ‘Brilliant James’ and late last year, publicly praised the deputy chief of staff.

“I’d hear from other people he’s a total political genius,” Trump said during a holiday reception. “But I didn’t see it. And you know what? He’s not quiet. He’s incredible — the job you’ve done, thank you, James.”

Before his work at the White House, Blair was deputy chief of staff for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and political director of the Florida Republican party’s statehouse arm ahead of the 2016 election.