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DEP TO WILES NOT MILLER

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AN 11 26

Former White House chief of staff Susie Wiles has come under fire after a former aide to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. alleged in an interview Sunday that Wiles' lobbying firm, Ballard Partners, controlled the White House. Now, CBS News is reporting her firm cashed in $186 million during Trump's first two years in office.

Calley Means told "Face the Nation" on Sunday that the White House prioritized specific industries and corporations, like the sugar industry and big tobacco, while ignoring the president's "Make America Healthy Again" agenda.

Means alleged Wiles blocked efforts to address issues like children’s sugar consumption because she needed donations from the industry for Republicans in the 2026 midterms. Meanwhile, her lobbying firm also pushed the pesticide glyphosate and worked on the approval of fruit-flavored vapes that capture new, young smokers.

The firm's huge profits "did not happen by accident," Means alleged.

Means, who resigned in October, also said Kennedy's anti-tobacco agenda ultimately stalled. Wiles and "her deputies were still relentlessly pushing HHS to find a pathway for fruit-flavored vapes," he said.

Big tobacco scored big in May "with new guidance that could let major tobacco companies sell flavored vapes," the CBS report said.

Brian Ballard, Wiles' partner, was a huge fundraiser for Trump. He explained in a statement Sunday that the firm's interactions with Wiles as chief of staff "have been limited and have been the exception, not the rule."

"Ballard Partners' more than $88 million in lobbying revenue last year was, at the time, the most any firm had reported since the Lobbying Disclosure Act took effect in 1996, even after adjusting for inflation," the CBS report said, citing an analysis of Senate lobbying disclosures. "Through the first three quarters of 2026, the firm has already surpassed that, reporting more than $98 million."

The money lobbying firms earn can change depending on the administration in power. Ballard Partners' close relationship to Trump through Wiles and Ballard would likely attract companies trying to win government contracts or influence regulations.

For a short time, Ballard was banned from the White House over its cryptocurrency lobbying, which reportedly irked officials. After helping raise $50 million for Trump's 2024 campaign, Ballard signed up "hundreds of clients, though its relationship with the administration," CBS News reported.

Axios reported that Ballard was ultimately able to clean up the relationships by May 2025, allowing him access to the White House again.

Top Wiles aide James Blair, was another target of Means, who said that the former deputy chief of staff was "relentless on helping the fruit-flavored vape industry."

Blair denied this online and to CBS, saying he did nothing of the sort and that his goal was to fast-track the FDA's rulings on "nicotine product applications."

"Calley is intentionally misrepresenting my role and my responsibility because he opposes the issue entirely," Blair added.

Trump's longtime pollster Tony Fabrizio was another Means attacked publicly, saying that he was helping pharmaceutical companies. Fabrizio called the allegations "ridiculous" and "demonstrably false."

One major problem for the Trump administration is that a key issue that helped usher in the so-called "blue tsunami" in the 2026 election came from those who addressed Washington corruption in their campaigns. Americans identified it as one of the top three most important issues in the six months leading up to the election.

"The Democrats are going to start investigations as soon as they're sworn in, and White House fighting about who was making money will just elevate the topic," commented Marc Short, who served as former Vice President Mike Pence's chief of staff.

The feud has certainly drawn the attention of Congress. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calf.), the incoming chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said he will look into all of the claims around Wiles and others.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said that Means was nothing more than a "disgruntled former administration official." He made it clear that he has no intention of investigating Wiles or other administration employees. He told CNN's Dana Bash over the weekend that Means' allegations were merely "something that someone says on a podcast."

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Yet another person with close ties to Donald Trump’s White House has been linked to a pro-Russia Balkan regime.

Katie Wiles, daughter of Trump’s chief of staff, Susie Wiles, works for a political lobbying firm that has a $35,000-per-month contract to represent a small self-governing territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina known as Republika Srpska. She traveled there as recently as August.

A photograph circulated by Evi Kokalari, a conservative Albanian American activist, showed the younger Wiles wielding a rifle and standing next to a man that CBS News identified as Željko Budimir, the interior minister of Republika Srpska. The image appeared to have been initially posted to Wiles’s Instagram story with the caption “mostly work + some serious fun!”

Continental Strategy, Wiles’s employer, confirmed to CBS that she traveled to Republika Srpska in August, but said she has not lobbied the U.S. government on its behalf. Yeah, she probably wouldn’t have to do much—her mom would do it for her. As of Thursday afternoon, Wiles’s page on her company’s website was inaccessible.

This news comes as MAGA world has turned its ire on two of the president’s closest advisers, Chris LaCivita and James Blair, who took time out of their presumably busy pre-midterm elections schedules to travel to the Balkans to assist in that territory’s elections. The two men were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each to provide counsel on voting issues to the government, which is led by far-right nationalists. Republika Srpska is closely aligned with Russian President Vladimir Putin and has made a considerable effort to make inroads with Trump and his allies.

Both LaCivita and Blair are connected to Susie Wiles—but even the famed “ice maiden” reportedly couldn’t protect them from the White House’s ire. Trump tried to distance himself from his beloved strategists, claiming that Blair and LaCivita were “outside consultants,” but his chief of staff’s child may be harder to disown.

Read more about Trump’s allies:

“Livid”: Trump Team Loses It Over Advisers Helping Russia-Linked Group

Most Recent Post

Malcolm Ferguson/

October 8, 2026

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AN 10 26

Sources inside the White House say Trump and company are "panicking" as his administration masterminds jump ship for more lucrative jobs elsewhere, says the Daily Mail.

“Susie Wiles summoned her top advisers to her West Wing office just after 8.15 am Friday for a crisis meeting as a wave of stories about Trump allies cashing in on their access threatened to swamp the White House,” reports the Daily Mail, and the president's chief of staff was “panicked,” said a source familiar with the meeting. Wiles and the administration are still coming to grips with the political and media fallout from two of the president's top political lieutenants taking profitable paydays with foreign entities.

Additionally, Daily Mail said anxiety was building around reports about Wiles’ own daughters' pro-Russia foreign lobbying work, according to two sources familiar with the mood in the building.

The Daily Mail's sources relay that the White House was “blindsided last week” after reports that Chris LaCivita and James Blair, Trump's trusted political hands, had spent the October 4 weekend in the Balkans, advising a Putin-aligned government that was claiming election victory. Reports claim the men traveled to Republika Srpska, a self-governing part of Bosnia and Herzegovina. There they "consulted" on voting issues ahead of Sunday's election for the nationalist party.

Trump was infuriated at the news LaCivita and Blair — the leaders of Trump's political operation for the 2026 midterms — were out of the country “scoring handsome consulting fees” with just weeks to go before November and Republicans fighting for their lives to preserve House and Senate majorities.

According to the Daily Mail, White House sources say Wiles “first met with her policy right-hand Walker Barrett before assembling other top White House aides, including Megan Bauer, head of Cabinet Affairs, for the early-morning powwow.”

When contacted, White House spokespeople described the meeting as just the 'usual' Friday morning meeting, but an administration official said Trump was 'furious,' and the president has been desperately “working the phones, calling allies to ask how he should handle the embarrassing disclosure about LaCivita and Blair.”

The Daily Mail adds that the White House declined to describe the nature of the conversations she had with staff that Friday.

Days earlier, Trump claimed he saw no conflict with LaCivita and Blair’s off-site money-making, but sources say behind the scenes “that tenor had changed,” with the turmoil handing Democrats fresh ammunition just as early voting begins and the party’s grip on Congress appears slippery, Republican operatives told to the Daily Mail.

The Daily Mail says representatives for LaCivita, Blair was and Jared Kushner were contacted for comment, but failed to respond in time for the Wednesday article.

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AN 10 26

President Donald Trump attempted to distance himself from two of his long-time political advisers, who cashed in by working for a Russia-aligned government got instant pushback.

After The New York Times reported that James Blair and Chris LaCivita had gone to Republika Srpska, a Serb-majority area in Bosnia and Herzegovina, to advise its government before the elections there, Trump reacted on Truth Social. The report states that the two men were each paid hundreds of thousands of dollars through a Washington-based law firm that had been hired by the government.

“Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants,” Trump wrote. “They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants.”

CNN anchor Dana Bash mentioned the post a minute later, calling it "pretty wild" and mentioning that Blair and LaCivita are two of Trump's "closest political advisers" and that the former "is literally running MAGA Inc"

While discussing Trump's effort to describe them as outside consultants, CNN White House reporter Alayna Treene gave a more detailed account of the president’s relationship with them, calling the president's denial "astonishing" due to their high profile within his close circle.

“They do work for the president, and they are very close,” Treene said. “They are very much considered part of his inner circle, very close with Susie Wiles.”

Treene said LaCivita and Wiles, the chief of staff to the White House, ran Trump's 2024 campaign together and that Blair was closely connected to both of them.

“And James Blair really is in charge of the president’s entire political operation, even though it’s being run on the outside of the White House,” she said.

Blair was political director of Trump's 2024 campaign and later became a deputy chief of staff in the White House. LaCivita was also one of the campaign managers for Trump in 2024, and both of them are still taking part in the Trump-associated political operation as the November midterms approach.

Treene described Trump’s threat as significant due to his close ties to both advisors, and she linked the president’s move to midterm anxiety.

“That is a huge deal for people who have been loyal to him from the beginning and comes. Of course, this comes less than 30 days away from the midterm elections. A lot of alarm bells, of course, going off across the country for republicans in some of these very vulnerable districts and these tight races.”

She also gave one possible reason why the president took public steps about the report, namely that Trump has in the past disliked his aides earning money in ways that could involve his name; she also pointed out the huge conflict of interest.

His current denial is now drawing focus to the relationship which he had aimed to limit, but CNN reports the pair are still firmly within his political circle, which could lead to some political blowback.

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July 14, 2026

Registered Corporate Lobbyist and Foreign Agent Jason Miller Must Not Be Appointed to Top WH Comms Job

Documents show Miller receiving $150,000/month from foreign government to influence U.S. policy and thousands more to lobby White House for corporate clients

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A reported plan for President Trump to appoint Jason Miller to a top communications job in the Trump White House would create an unprecedented conflict of interest since records show Miller is also earning millions of dollars lobbying the Trump White House on behalf of a foreign government, two foreign-owned corporations, and two companies with hundreds of millions of dollars in U.S. military contracts. The reported plan would bring Miller into a White House job by designating him a “Special Government Employee,” a status that could enable him to keep his lobbying contracts.

In a statement, Public Citizen democracy advocate Jon Golinger said: “Taking a lobbyist who’s on the payroll of a foreign government and companies with huge government contracts and putting him inside the White House will create a three-headed beast of divided loyalties. What inside information will this person suddenly have access to and will he withhold it from his paying clients? Congress must block this plan to install a corporate lobbyist and foreign agent inside the White House.”

Federal lobbying filings for Miller’s company SHW Partners show that, starting in July 2025, his firm has reported being paid $261,665 to lobby the Trump White House, the Department of Defense, and other federal agencies on behalf of four corporate clients:

Foreign Agent Registration Act (FARA) filings for Miller and his firm SHW Partners show Miller signed a $150,000/month contract in April with the government of India to influence “the U.S. Government, the U.S. Congress, state governments, academic institutions, think tanks, and any other relevant stakeholders as required.” The contract continues Miller’s representation of India, which began in April 2025. At the end of the two-year term of his representation of India SHW stands to earn $3.6 million in fees.

A Public Citizen analysis found that, since Miller first registered as a foreign agent in April 2025, he has reported over 100 contacts with Trump Administration officials, Congress, and media figures to influence U.S. policy on behalf of India. This included dozens of phone calls with senior White House officials and Cabinet Secretaries and private dinners with White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair and then DHS Chief Advisor Corey Lewandowski, among others. Miller also disclosed using his social media accounts to distribute information on behalf of the Indian government.

A federal law prohibits public officials from acting as agents of foreign entities that require them to register as foreign agents. Violation of the law is punishable by a fine, imprisonment for up to two years, or both. An exception to the law allows an individual hired as a Special Government Employee only if the head of the agency employing the individual “certifies that such employment is required in the national interest.”

“Putting a corporate lobbyist and foreign agent in a top White House job would harm the national interest, not serve it,” said Golinger. “We urge Congress to tell the White House to abandon this ill-advised idea.”

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deputy pow

an 4 26

Over the course of President Donald Trump’s two terms, he has endeavored to assert himself as the final say across GOP electoral races large and small. While he has often been successful at forcing his party’s candidates to bend to his will, in a race for the Indiana state Senate, Trump’s efforts to push one Republican out in favor of another have one conservative candidate accusing the White House of “threatening” behavior.

The Indiana state elections drew Trump’s attention after several sitting lawmakers opposed his redistricting plan last year. As a result, the White House has now thrown its support behind candidate Brenda Wilson in hopes of unseating state Senator Greg Goode, who voted against redistricting.

The administration became concerned, however, that Republican candidate Alexandra Wilson — no relation to the other candidate — would confuse and divide the vote because she has the same last name. As a result, reports NBC, the White House began leveraging wide-ranging tactics to pressure Alexandra Wilson out of the race, from offering a job to threatening personal attacks.

It started with a barrage of phone calls from three White House aides, including political director Matt Brasseaux, deputy chief of staff James Blair, and Midwest regional political director Marshall Moreau. These were followed by calls and texts from Indiana Lieutenant Governor Micah Beckwith, Governor Mike Braun’s chief of staffJoshua Kelley and a staffer for a Republican activist group.

In the first call with Brasseaux, the White House political director attempted to cajole Wilson into accepting a job in exchange for dropping out, offering her an administrative role. She declined.

“I had a hard time not feeling insulted the entire call,” she later explained. “The admin position — I have a career, my job — that was a fraction of what I make a year.” She also felt like Brasseaux didn’t take her assertion that there were genuine local issues she’d like to address seriously.

The calls from the aforementioned figures kept coming all day, the last from Lieutenant Governor Beckwith, who later told NBC, “I just said I don’t know if you guys really thought this one through, because this probably could end poorly for this woman.”

The next morning, the pressure campaign ramped up with a string of calls and texts. “They were very, very pushy,” Wilson said.

That evening, she received a call from Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair, who noted that he was on a plane with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, before making veiled threats to reveal charges she’d faced at the age of 19 for resisting arrest (Wilson is now 34) and her husband’s DUI.

“I just wanted to talk about that brass-tacks reality that I think is going to be really ugly,” Blair warned.

“I was a child. I made a mistake,” Wilson explained about the charge, which had been resolved with a plea deal, then was later expunged from her record. “It was right after my mother passed away suddenly. I made a poor choice. Everybody makes mistakes. I have been a law-abiding citizen since then.”

When Wilson concluded the call, which she says was “a little threatening,” she made it plain that she had no plans to drop out of the race.

The next day, which was the last day candidates were allowed to quit, a local conservative attorney filed a petition with the state Election Commission to disqualify Wilson, alleging that her candidacy was a “trick” to hand the race to the Democrats. He argued that she wasn’t eligible to run due to her felony arrest at 19, even though it had been pleaded down to a misdemeanor and eventually removed from her record. After a series of deadlocked votes by the Commission, Wilson was ultimately allowed to remain on the ballot, though the attorney says he plans on appealing the decision.

“I have been accused of dirty tricks, political dirty tricks,” said Wilson. “This is exactly what is a political dirty trick. I’m a legitimate candidate with concerns for my district that would like to represent my district, and I have every right to be involved as anybody else on the ballot.”

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hmmn

Ashley St. Clair released a TikTok video post-White House Correspondents’ Dinner in 2025 claiming MAGA influencers use a “Fight Fight Fight” group chat. She named White House Deputy Chief of Staff James Blair as a member. St. Clair pointed to multiple influencers posting identical messages demanding Trump get “his ballroom.” Her argument relies on the statistical improbability of such synchronization without coordination. No screenshots, recordings, or chat logs support her story. James Blair issued no public response.

IFrame Content

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4 26 no talk

Michael James Blair (born May 21, 1989) is an American political consultant who has served as the White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs since 2025.

Blair graduated from Florida State University with a bachelor's degree in finance. In 2013, he founded Rapid Loop Consulting, a political consulting firm. Blair's political work was largely concentrated within Florida, working within the state's Republican Party and serving as an assistant to Richard Corcoran, the speaker of the Florida House of Representatives. He helped lead Corcoran's unmaterialized campaign for the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election and later became involved with Ron DeSantis's campaign. Blair served as DeSantis's deputy chief of staff until his resignation in August 2019. He worked for several political campaigns, including for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign in Florida.

In March 2024, Blair was appointed the political director of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. That month, Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee, announced that Blair would serve as the committee's political director. In November, Trump named Blair as his White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs.

Early life and education

Michael James Blair[1] was born on May 21, 1989.[2] Blair graduated from Gaither High School in 2007[1] and from Florida State University with a bachelor's degree in finance.[3]

Career

Consulting work (2013–2022)

In 2013, Blair founded Rapid Loop Consulting, a political consulting firm. He divested from the firm after the 2024 presidential election, according to the company's president.[4] In 2015, Blair became involved in the Florida Republican Party. According to Politico, the party had spent—and reimbursed—over US$800,000 through his personal charge card. In 2016, he became an assistant to Richard Corcoran, the then-designate speaker of the Florida House of Representatives.[5] In August 2016, Corcoran appointed Blair to lead external affairs within his office.[6]

In September 2018, Blair was named to the board of Enterprise Florida.[7] Blair helped lead Corcoran's initial, unmaterialized campaign for the 2018 Florida gubernatorial election.[8]

In October 2018, he became involved with Ron DeSantis's campaign in the gubernatorial election as a senior advisor.[9] After DeSantis's victory, Blair advised him on policy.[10] He served as DeSantis's deputy chief of staff until his resignation in August 2019.[11] Blair was pushed out of the DeSantis administration[12] as DeSantis's wife Casey and other state Republicans conflicted with Wiles.[13] Blair lead Melissa Nelson's re-election effort as the state attorney for Florida's fourth judicial circuit,[14] and worked for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign in Florida.[15]

In June 2021, Blair became a spokesman for Anna Paulina Luna.[16] In July 2021, the conservative commentator Tudor Dixon hired Blair to help her campaign in the 2022 Michigan gubernatorial election[17] as her lead strategist.[18] He registered the domain name for Saving Arizona PAC, a political action committee in support of Blake Masters in the 2022 Senate election in Arizona.[19] With Andy Surabian, Blair lead a political action committee to challenge representative Liz Cheney's re-election campaign.[20] Concurrently, Blair worked on Luna and Cory Mills's campaigns.[21] With Andy Surabian, he led a political action committee, American Leadership PAC, to advance representative Jim Banks's policies.[22]

Trump campaign and Republican National Committee (2022–2024)

:{:{In March 2024, Blair was appointed the political director of Trump's 2024 presidential campaign. That month, Michael Whatley, the chair of the Republican National Committee, announced that Blair would served as the committee's political director;[23] he was involved in the drafting of the committee's platform that year.[24] Among Blair's initial responsibilities included using information gathered from working in the DeSantis administration against the governor.[12]}:

Blair focused on attracting low and mid-propensity voters,[25] apolitical men,[26] and African Americans.[27] He coordinated a voter outreach effort intended to be run at a lower cost than the US$130 million spent on the field operation for Trump's 2020 campaign.[28] He signed data sharing agreements with Turning Point Action and America First Works to facilitate canvassing.[29]}:

BOWYER?

White House Deputy Chief of Staff (2025–present)

:{:{In November 2024, The Washington Post reported that Blair was expected to be named as a White House deputy chief of staff.[30] On November 13, Trump named Blair as his deputy chief of staff for legislative, political and public affairs.[31] In February 2025, Politico described him as an opponent of Elon Musk's work within the federal government.[32] With Russell Vought, the director of the Office of Management and Budget, and James Braid, the White House director of legislative affairs, he participated in budget talks with Congress in May.[33]}:

Blair presented Trump with plans to redraw congressional maps to favor Republicans in April, beginning a mid-decade redistricting cycle. His strategy towards Congress was described by The Wall Street Journal as aggressive; according to the Journal, outgoing Georgia representative Marjorie Taylor Greene described Blair and his associates as "dismissive" towards her. Blair reportedly discouraged New York representative Mike Lawler from running for governor in the 2026 election and Michigan representative Bill Huizenga for running in the 2026 Senate election.[12] Blair has additionally managed the Trump administration's strategy for the broader 2026 elections.[34]}:

Views

Blair has described himself as "pretty far to the right", according to The Wall Street Journal.[12]

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[### James Blair (political advisor)

Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org › wiki › James_Blair_(political...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Blair_%28political_advisor%29)

Michael James Blair (born May 21, 1989) is an American political consultant who has served as the White House deputy chief of staff for legislative, ...Read more

AI Overview

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James Blair is a prominent Florida-based Republican operative and strategist serving as the 2025 White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Legislative, Political, and Public Affairs. A key architect of Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign and former aide to Gov. Ron DeSantis, Blair specializes in political strategy, campaign finance, and legislative affairs.

YouTube +4

Key Aspects of James Blair's Career:

Wikipedia +8

Regarding "Miller" in your query:

The search results for "James Blair GOP Miller" indicate that Blair worked with Rep. Max Miller (R-Ohio) on his 2022 campaign. Other results mention a different individual, James B. Miller, from the Haslam College of Business, which does not appear to be the political advisor.

Politico +1

Focus on 2025 Strategy:

Blair has emphasized that Trump voters can be converted into long-term Republican voters if the party delivers on its promises. He has also been deeply involved in managing the White House's relationship with Congress and in navigating policy initiatives.

Florida Politics +4

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