James Braid

Former Director of Legislative Affairs for President Donald J. Trump, Ex-House/Senate Staffer, Personal account.

[Heritage Foundation @Heritage]

“The average American voter does not think in isms. The average American voter thinks in concretized solutions that can potentially make their life better. Whichever party is able to portray themselves as doing that is the party that will ultimately be successful with that demographic.”

@JamesCBraid speaks at #TheForum2026.

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

Hegseth impeachment defeated 211-204 with an adopted motion to refer. Major victory for President Trump, House Republican leadership, and the White House Office of Legislative Affairs—congratulations to all!

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

Phenomenal news!

[Alex Isenstadt @axiosalex]

More White House staffing news. Caleb Orr will become Deputy Chief for Policy, succeeding Stephen Miller, per 2 ppl familiar

[Alex Isenstadt @axiosalex]

More White House staffing news. Caleb Orr will become Deputy Chief for Policy, succeeding Stephen Miller, per 2 ppl familiar

[Stephen Miller @StephenM]

President Trump is the most transformative political leader in American History — and he has single-handedly saved America from those who would destroy it.

It has been the privilege of my lifetime to have served on his team from Day One, and I am honored beyond words to serve as his White House Chief of Staff.

I want to thank the incomparable Susie Wiles for her years of devoted service to the President and the Country, and for her friendship.

The mission now is more clear than ever: Fight with all of our soul to support our President and defend this magnificent Republic.

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

Susie Wiles is a leader of astonishing toughness and determination. It was an honor to work for her and I’m grateful every day for the sacrifices she made in the service of our country.

Stephen Miller is the absolute best choice for the job. He’s one of the president’s most loyal lieutenants, and knows what time it is better than anyone. I believe his savvy, his leadership, and his intellect will ensure that the President continues to see enormous success in the remainder of his term.

There are no permanent victories or defeats in American politics. The battle for the soul of America continues.

[JD Vance @JDVance]

One of the things the data analysts on our side obsessed over was "composition"—whether the electorate looked close enough to 2024 for Republicans to win. And despite polls that showed a Democrat blowout, the data kept on telling us the same story: in some states turnout was merely OK, in other states it was downright amazing, and in no state was it catastrophic. There was a genuine sense of optimism on our team: our people were showing up.

So, I asked the smartest data guy I know, does that mean we're going to shock the world? "No," he told me. "We might do better than the polls suggest. But the data is telling us that a lot of Trump/Vance 2024 voters are pissed and planning to vote for the other guys. Our voters are turning out, but they may not vote for us."

Well, that looks prophetic now. Our voters did show up. In Florida, for example, the electorate was 9 points more Republican than Democrat, just a couple points worse than 2024. Undoubtedly there were places we could have done better on turnout. But the main problem is not turnout. The main problem is that many people who voted for Trump/Vance in 2024 voted for Democrats in 2026.

There will be a lot of infighting and arguing over what happened and why that is. One of the pollsters I really respect told me that our economic messaging wasn’t sharp enough down the stretch. I’m sure that’s true.

But the real reason we lost is obvious to almost everyone.

Another pollster—one of the smartest people I know in politics, told me yesterday we’d lose the generic ballot by 13 points. I felt negative going into Tuesday, but even I was shocked by this. In his polling, he saw that a lot of Trump 2024 voters were angry and planning to vote for Democrats. He asked those voters who had abandoned us what would cause them to come back on our team. The top four answers, accounting for nearly all of the responses were:

1) End the war
2) Focus on cost of living/inflation
3) Put America First
4) Change our relationship to Israel

Our voters showed up. And the above four reasons are why many of them voted for Democrats. This is according to a pollster who nailed the results. While many spent Monday attacking Rachel Campos Duffy for calling for a diplomatic resolution to the conflict, it turns out her political advice was sound. (She’s also a great person.)

In the next few months, there's going to be a lot of gaslighting. Expect to hear any number of establishment politicians say the solution to our woes is amnesty. I'm open to the idea that we should change enforcement—by focusing more on businesses that hire illegal labor, for instance. But anyone pushing amnesty is lying to you.

The reason we lost is the war. The president himself said so last night.

If you'd like to argue it was worth it, that losing the Senate for the next 6 years was worth it, then do so. Argue it was a worthwhile cost to pay. Agree or disagree, that's at least honest.

But everyone knows why we lost. And any honest conversation about where we go from here must start there.

I remain hopeful about our country. To the people who are pissed off and want to say, “I told you so”: you’re right, you did tell us so. Take that energy into electing Republicans who share your worldview. To the people who are just pissed at the results, you should be. Let’s take that anger and get back to the work of saving our country.

[Mike Fragoso @mike_frags]

As @SeanJCooksey and I have explained, efforts to find someone with the same name to trick voters into not voting for their intended candidate is not just s dirty trick. It's a conspiracy against rights. The latest from the NYT should give the U.S. Attorney plenty to work with.

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

Key Congress takeaway: the budget hawk versus defense hawk split is outdated. With the rise of near/full-peer competition, the real question is *how* to best resource military primacy, not *if*, because it underpins economic primacy.

[Clint Brown @DissidentClint]

People with physical wealth in the US should fear the breakdown of the rule of law.

BUT, otherwise Jamie is exactly right. The dollar is backed by nuclear submarines. That’s as real as it gets.

[JD Vance @JDVance]

The American Dream doesn’t belong to Wall Street. It belongs to the American people.

Thanks to President Trump and Scott Bessent, families don’t have to worry about getting out-bid on their dream homes by private equity barons. And we’re making those same big investors give financial support to families buying their first homes.
https://t.co/nahsQMaZMH

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

Slotkin gave a speech two weeks ago outlining the administration officials she thinks should be targeted for prosecution in these “signature cases,” incl. Burgum. Below she says the actual goal is deterring young people from working for Trump.

https://t.co/IHJQ9HaSgD

[The Chicago Thinker @ThinkerChicago]

ON UCHICAGO CAMPUS: U.S. Senator from Michigan Elissa Slotkin hopes planned political prosecutions of republican leaders will scare young conservatives from getting involved in politics.

@ElissaSlotkin

[Daily Signal @DailySignal]

How Trump Got Congress to Deliver | James Braid

President Trump has delivered major legislative victories despite Republicans holding some of the narrowest congressional majorities in modern history.

Outgoing White House Director of Legislative Affairs @JamesCBraid joins @bradleydevlin on his last episode hosting The Signal Sitdown to discuss the behind-the-scenes negotiations that helped deliver Trump's One Big Beautiful Bill, historic tax cuts, and major immigration enforcement legislation.

[Bradley Devlin @bradleydevlin]

For my last trick...

Former White House Director of Legislative Affairs @JamesCBraid joins the Signal Sitdown this week to discuss "the trifecta by which all future GOP trifectas will be judged."

Alas, this will be my final episode of the Signal Sitdown, and when we started this show two years ago, I never would have thought it would reach tens of millions. But we did because we're saving the country.

My opening monologue for my final show as @DailySignal's host of the Signal Sitdown.

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

Congratulations to the great Katie Bailey @BaileyCath73125. Katie’s a consummate pro, an extraordinary hill operator, and one of the best people in Washington. Katie is going to do great things, and I know that the Office of Legislative Affairs will deliver for the President under her leadership. Katie worked for the great @MarkMeadows, @GovBraun, @jasoninthehouse, @SenRonJohnson and a number of other tremendous America First congressional fighters. She’s handled the nominations portfolio with an almost impossible grace, and previously served as the office’s Deputy Director for the United States Senate.

[Secretary Brooke Rollins @SecRollins]

FARMERS FIRST.
AMERICA FIRST.

Promises made. ✅
Promises kept. ✅

Thank you, @POTUS. More work to be done, but progress made.

God Bless our great farmers and ranchers.

👉 https://t.co/lXfMQnNPDr

[Secretary Keith Sonderling @Sonderling47]

I am honored to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the 31st Secretary of Labor.

@POTUS is the greatest President for the American Worker, and I’m grateful for his trust and confidence in me to lead @USDOL.

America’s workers and job creators are the greatest in the world. I will work every day to ensure they have a Department of Labor that is accountable, effective, and responsive to their needs.

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

A fitting tribute to one of the best legislators I’ve ever known.

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

@SenKatieBritt Thank you Senator! Enjoyed working with you as well.

[Senator Katie Boyd Britt @SenKatieBritt]

Similarly, my last conversation with my friend Lindsey Graham was about his excitement that a deal had been reached and the importance of passing this legislation.

@JamesCBraid dedicated countless hours to this effort and was absolutely critical to getting it done. I was proud to work closely alongside him and so many others to get this historic legislation across the finish line.

[James Braid @JamesCBraid]

My last conversation with the late Senator Lindsey Graham was about his sanctions and tariff bill, which now bears his name and will head to the presidents desk after successful bipartisan votes in both chambers. It is the first time in nearly forty years that Congress has granted new tariff authorities to the executive branch.