Chief Counsel at R.N.C. Pushed Out After Two Months on the Job

Charlie Spies, a veteran election-law lawyer, had been under attack since soon after he joined the Republican National Committee in March.

Share full article

Charlie Spies, right, in 2013.

Charlie Spies, the Republican National Committee’s chief counsel, was pushed out of his new role just two months after taking the job, amid a storm of controversy over conflicts involving other clients at the firm where he still works, according to two people briefed on the matter.

Mr. Spies, a veteran election-law lawyer whom the R.N.C. hired in March primarily because of his knowledge of how best to use existing regulations to a campaign’s or a candidate’s advantage, has been under attack since soon after he arrived at the committee.

A spokeswoman for the Trump campaign and the R.N.C. did not respond to an email seeking comment. Mr. Spies would not comment.

His past work — including for the presidential campaign of Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, the super PAC supporting Jeb Bush against Donald J. Trump during the 2016 Republican primary and Mitt Romney, the 2012 Republican presidential nominee — was highlighted for Mr. Trump by people seeking to oust Mr. Spies.

That softened the ground to get rid of him, according to the two people briefed on the matter. But in the last few weeks, the fact that Mr. Spies’s firm — from which he did not take a leave when he accepted the R.N.C. job — still has ties to Mr. DeSantis became a particular point of concern for Trump officials, the two people said.

Mr. DeSantis and Mr. Trump recently met for the first time to repair their relationship after their bruising primary fight. The Trump team, which is being out-raised by President Biden’s team, hopes that Mr. DeSantis can help raise money. But the specifics of what that work might look like became an issue, leading to concerns that Mr. Spies has conflicts, the two people said.

Maggie Haberman is a senior political correspondent reporting on the 2024 presidential campaign, down ballot races across the country and the investigations into former President Donald J. Trump. More about Maggie Haberman