Trump picks Vance aide James Braid to run Legislative Affairs

WASHINGTON — President-elect Donald Trump named James Braid, a top aide to running mate JD Vance, as the leader of the White House’s legislative affairs shop as the leadership of the incoming administration’s political operation took shape on Monday.

Trump also named Matt Brasseaux, a Republican National Committee staffer who helped lead his campaign efforts in Arizona and Nevada, as director of the Office of Political Affairs. Alex Latcham, who helped steer Trump’s endorsements and directed outreach to Republican congressional electoral committees, will run the Office of Political Liaison, the transition announced Monday.

The team will play a critical role in Trump’s efforts to secure a major tax bill extending and expanding the cuts he passed during his first term and that are scheduled to expire at the end of 2025. Lawmakers will also play a key role in helping advance key tariffs that Trump can’t implement unilaterally and confirming the president-elect’s Cabinet and judicial picks.

Braid has worked in Vance’s Senate office as deputy chief of staff, leading his policy efforts, and also worked for the Office of Management and Budget during Trump’s first term. He also worked as policy director for the House Freedom Caucus, a group of some of the most conservative Republicans in the lower chamber.

Even with Republicans holding majorities in both the House and Senate of the incoming Congress, many of those priorities are expected to pose political challenges.

Trump’s first attorney general nominee — former Florida Representative Matt Gaetz — already withdrew after Republicans in the Senate signaled they might not support his nomination amid an investigation into allegations he paid an underage woman for sex. Other nominees including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Trump’s controversial choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, are also likely to face an uphill climb to confirmation.

Separately, House Speaker Mike Johnson said earlier this month that Trump’s plan to end income tax on tips would need to be paid for, potentially complicating a key campaign promise.

“You have got to make sure that these new savings for the American people can be paid for and make sure the economy is a pro-growth economy,” said Johnson on CNN’s State of the Union.

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