Mike Pence's chief of staff wants to 'purge' Republicans who won't unite behind Trump Business Insider
Nick Ayers
caption  Then-Republican political strategists Nick Ayers   left  and Kellyanne Conway  right  arrive at Trump Tower  December 8  2016 in New York City. source Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Mike Penceâs chief of staff  Nick Ayers  on Tuesday pushed wealthy donors to unite against Republicans in Congress who oppose Donald Trumpâs agenda  advising them to âpurgeâ the small contingent of GOP leaders impeding the implementation of the presidentâs campaign promises.
According to an audio recording of the event obtained by Politico   Ayers  departed from Mike Penceâs generally conciliatory public tone at a closed-door Republican National Committee event at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington  and urged a more aggressive funding strategy.
âJust imagine the possibilities of what can happen if our entire party unifies behind him?â  Ayers  told donors. âIf â and this sounds crass â we can purge the handful of people who continue to work to defeat him.â
 Ayers  warned donors that unless they pull funding from anti-Trump Republican leaders and threaten to recruit primary candidates to challenge them  the Republican party will be âon track to get shellackedâ in the 2018 midterm elections. While  Ayers  was pessimistic about the GOPâs ability to pass comprehensive tax reform  he maintained that going into the elections without having passed at least one major legislative goal would be a âsuicide mission.â
caption   [TGT] left  and Kellyanne Conway  right  arrive at Trump Tower  December 8  2016 in New York City. source Drew Angerer/Getty Images
Mike Penceâs chief of staff   [TGT] on Tuesday pushed wealthy donors to unite against Republicans in Congress who oppose Donald Trumpâs agenda  advising them to âpurgeâ the small contingent of GOP leaders impeding the implementation of the presidentâs campaign promises.
According to an audio recording of the event obtained by Politico   Ayers  departed from Mike Penceâs generally conciliatory public tone at a closed-door Republican National Committee event at the St. Regis Hotel in Washington  and urged a more aggressive funding strategy.
âJust imagine the possibilities of what can happen if our entire party unifies behind him?â  Ayers  told donors. âIf â and this sounds crass â we can purge the handful of people who continue to work to defeat him.â
 Ayers  warned donors that unless they pull funding from anti-Trump Republican leaders and threaten to recruit primary candidates to challenge them  the Republican party will be âon track to get shellackedâ in the 2018 midterm elections. While  Ayers  was pessimistic about the GOPâs ability to pass comprehensive tax reform  he maintained that going into the elections without having passed at least one major legislative goal would be a âsuicide mission.â