The Democratic National Committee (DNC) is reportedly adding several of Hillary Clinton’s former campaign staffers to their planned political “war room” against President-elect Donald Trump.
According to the Hill, that list includes interim communications director John Neffinger, a veteran Democratic strategist; Clinton’s former rapid response director, Zac Petkanas, who will act as senior adviser to the DNC and run the war room; former Clinton campaign spokeswoman Adrienne Watson, who will be the DNC’s national press secretary; and Tessa Simonds who was appointed as the digital director for the war room on Tuesday.
The DNC’s interim Chairwoman Donna Brazile — who has been riddled with controversy — says the focus of the new staff will be to “support an independent and bipartisan congressional investigation of Russia’s unprecedented interference in the 2016 election,” which they blame for Clinton’s loss. However, the Russian hacking narrative is quickly dismantling with little evidence to back the Democrats’ suggestion that Russia interfered with the election to cause Clinton’s stunning loss.
Brazile also reportedly says the focus of the new “war room” will be to “take on the incoming Trump administration, and protect President Obama’s legacy” in addition to fighting the GOP’s attempts to repeal Obamacare and making extra efforts to find dirt on Trump’s “egregious and unethical self-dealing, as well as his appointment of nominees whose extreme policies would actively undermine the missions that their respective agencies are responsible for pursuing.”
Incoming Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) has indicated that he and his fellow Democratic senators will aggressively target eight of Trump’s “rigged Cabinet” picks.
The Hill notes that despite the fact that some liberals are pushing for a complete overhaul of the DNC, and have expressed skepticism over bringing on former Clinton staffers, Brazile insists time is of the essence and that waiting until late February will be too late for her party to put their planned assault against Trump into place.
“In this critical lead up to the election of our next chair, the DNC will be leveraging our resources, our unparalleled research operation, and our experienced team to assist with an independent and bipartisan Congressional investigation of Russia’s interference in the election, hold Donald Trump’s feet to the fire as he forms his new government, and lead the charge in defending the achievements made under the Obama administration,” Brazile reportedly said in a statement.
Brazile has remained interim DNC head even after Wikileaks exposed an email revealing she fed questions to Clinton‘s aides ahead of a CNN town hall debate against Bernie Sanders.
With the race for DNC chair heating up, there’s even more controversy, as progressives — who support Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) — are in a fight against more centrist Democrats who are reportedly supporting President Barack Obama’s Labor secretary, Tom Perez.
Ellison, a progressive Democrat and the first Muslim elected to Congress, announced his candidacy in November.
The former Nation of Islam member and alleged anti-Semite, has faced a slew of criticism — including from the Anti-Defamation League — after audio surfaced from 2010 in which the left-wing congressman said that Israel controlled the U.S. government.
During a December appearance on MSNBC, Former Vermont Gov. Howard Dean said he does not support Ellison for DNC chair.
Follow Adelle Nazarian on Twitter and Periscope @AdelleNaz
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