Trump Set to Add Aides as White House Fights Impeachment

(Bloomberg) -- President Donald Trump is expected to hire a pair of new aides dedicated to responding to the House's expanding impeachment investigation, according to two people familiar with the plan.

Former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and Tony Sayegh, a former Treasury Department spokesman, are expected to join the White House communications team on a temporary basis to assist with messaging and strategy on impeachment and other special projects, according to a senior administration official. Another person familiar with the situation said that Sayegh and Bondi would both join the West Wing.

Earlier Wednesday, House Democrats announced they will hold the first public hearings in their impeachment inquiry into Trump, beginning Nov. 13.

Some Trump allies have called for the White House to create a team to handle impeachment, criticizing the White House's response as disorganized. But Trump has pushed back on the idea of adding aides to tackle impeachment.

“Here's the thing. I don't have teams. Everyone's talking about teams. I'm the team. I did nothing wrong,” Trump told reporters last month at the White House.

Adding Bondi and Sayegh is a tacit admission that Trump's staff needs help in coordinating its response to the probe, which appears increasingly likely to end with a Senate trial.

Bondi served as Florida attorney general from 2011 to 2019 and is a vocal supporter of the president. The relationship attracted scrutiny over a $25,000 donation Trump made through his foundation to a committee supporting Bondi's 2014 re-election campaign. She currently works at Ballard Partners, a lobbying firm with ties to the administration.

Qatar, which since 2017 has been the target of an embargo by Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Egypt, is one of her clients. Trump initially appeared to support the Saudi move -- echoing the kingdom's assertions that Qatar supported terrorists -- even though it put the U.S. in an awkward position because it has a major military base in Qatar, which has denied the Saudi allegations.

NBC News, citing an anonymous source, reported that Bondi will stop working on client matters starting next week.

Sayegh's hire has been rumored for weeks. During his time at the Treasury Department, he was credited for helping shepherd Trump's biggest legislative achievement to passage, the 2017 tax overhaul. His hiring is supported by the president's son-in-law and senior adviser, Jared Kushner, according to people familiar with the matter.

--With assistance from Saleha Mohsin.

To contact the reporter on this story: Jordan Fabian in Washington at jfabian6@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Alex Wayne at awayne3@bloomberg.net, Joshua Gallu

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