“Thanks for the opportunity but I don’t comment on rumours!!” LaCivita wrote in a text message to The Washington Post.
A Trump spokesperson did not speak directly to LaCivita when asked for comment.
“As President Trump continues to fuel the Republican Party’s march toward a historic midterm election, aimed at propelling more than 300 endorsed candidates to power and providing the energy that will produce record numbers of voters, the ‘America is rightly hungry and eager to know what’s next,” spokesperson Taylor Budowich said in a statement. “President Trump is focused on what’s important: making America great again.”
The four people familiar with the matter spoke on condition of anonymity to disclose the internal deliberations.
LaCivita works as a consultant for Sen. Ron Johnson’s (R-Wis.) re-election campaign and as a senior strategist for Make America Great Again Inc., the latest incarnation of a Trump-backed outside group that can raise money. unlimited amounts of money.
A partner in Republican firm FP1, LaCivita did the work for MAGA Inc. through his personal consulting firm. MAGA Inc., which has yet to reveal its donors, spent about $8.5 million on ads this month to support Republican Senate candidates in Ohio, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia, according to federal records.
If asked, LaCivita would give an entrance into the mainstream Republican world for Trump, who has seen his orbit shrink in recent months amid a series of federal investigations.
During the 2020 campaign, LaCivita led Preserve America PAC, a group that was almost entirely funded by entities linked to Las Vegas casino magnet Sheldon Adelson and has spent around $100 million in recent months. of the campaign to help elect Trump.
LaCivita began working in politics after being injured as a Marine in an artillery unit during the 1990 Gulf War. He previously worked for former Senators George Allen of Virginia and Bob Corker of Tennessee, as well as on the Senate campaign of former Trump Small Business Administration Administrator Linda McMahon. He has also held leadership positions for the Republican National Senate Committee and as a consultant for the Congressional Leadership Fund, the outside group that backs Republican House candidates.
During the 2016 presidential campaign, LaCivita worked as a senior adviser to the presidential campaign of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). After Paul suspended his campaign, LaCivita went to work for the Republican National Committee, where he helped organize the pushback against an attempt on the Republican convention floor to deny Trump’s nomination.
Susie Wiles, one of Trump’s top operatives, is also reaching out to other Republicans in a bid to hire a team for Trump, who tells his allies he plans to run for president again. Many of his longtime advisers don’t want to play a role in the 2024 bid after a series of federal investigations ensnared him – and they fear a deadly battle he could lose.
So far, Trump’s team has managed to convince him not to announce a candidacy before the midterm elections, where other Republicans fear he could hurt their campaigns.
Some Trump allies increasingly say he is losing ground amid a series of federal surveys, and he has slipped significantly among Republican voters in polls by people close to him. Trump allies note that he leads in most GOP primary polls by a wide margin. His team also increasingly sees a big 2024 field, which they hope to break out and use to his advantage, according to four people close to him.
But some in his orbit fear he could be charged as part of an FBI investigation into classified documents recovered from his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida after he left office, according to people familiar with the matter. . Given the political and legal headaches of investigating him, some of his allies suspect he might change his mind about running.
In his two previous presidential campaigns, Trump replaced his initial campaign manager the summer before the general election. His son-in-law Jared Kushner, who served as a senior adviser to both campaigns, has parted ways with Trump’s political operation since the 2020 election defeat. Many of his other advisers, lawyers and consultants say they speak to him less often. than before.
“For me right now, I’m enjoying my life in the private sector and enjoying spending time with my kids,” Kushner said in an August interview with Fox News.