Blood-letting...

The fallout from Ron DeSantis’ not-so-good day

By GARY FINEOUT and KIMBERLY LEONARD 

It was quiet yesterday afternoon outside the Ron DeSantis campaign headquarters, where, our POLITICO colleague Alex Isenstadt was first to report, roughly two dozen people had just been let go.

From the look of the license plates in the parking lot — hailing from places such as D.C., Virginia, Texas and Ohio — it was clear to Florida Playbook that many DeSantis believers had left their hometowns to join the presidential campaign effort nestled in Florida.

Those who remained were still busy at work. Staffers made their way in and out of the nondescript building in Tallahassee. But nobody was witnessed exiting the office with boxes of their belongings or looking despondent, suggesting the layoffs occurred earlier in the day.

Among those recognized still with the campaign were political director Sam Cooper and Christina Pushaw, the campaign’s rapid response director, who assured Florida Playbook as she got into her car that she hadn’t lost her job.

The staffing cuts and restructuring on Tuesday were in addition to roughly 10 others laid off earlier this month, fueling yet another news cycle that questioned whether the Florida governor could go the distance in the presidential race.

It was a hard day for the campaign all around, one that started with a car crash when DeSantis was heading to a fundraiser in Tennessee. This week the DeSantis campaign elevated Carl Sceusa to the role of chief financial officer, NBC News reported, and fired Nate Hochman, a meme-savvy employee, according to Semafor.

Campaign manager Generra Peck described the actions as “aggressive steps to streamline operations” so DeSantis could win the nomination and defeat President Joe Biden.

Where do former employees head next? It’s still just the beginning of the presidential race and outside opportunities to support the governor may be available. But political campaigns and committees know there’s much to be gained from tapping into rival talent. It happens all the time.

Remember: Susie Wiles, a top Trump campaign adviser, successfully oversaw DeSantis’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign and is now working to ensure he won’t be the 2024 GOP presidential nominee.

More could follow. “President Trump will be staffing up as he moves toward the Republican nomination,” a Trump aide told Florida Playbook. “We would never rule out the possibility of these folks joining our team.”

— WHERE’S RON? — Nothing official announced for Gov. DeSantis.