White House gripped by panic as Trump turns on his staff

 Susie Wiles summoned her top advisers to her West Wing office just after 8.15am Friday for a crisis meeting as a wave of stories about Trump allies cashing in on their access threatened to swamp the White House with just weeks before the midterms.

The president's chief of staff was 'panicked,' a source familiar with the meeting told the Daily Mail, as she confronted the political and media fallout from two of the president's top political lieutenants taking lucrative foreign paydays.

Plus, anxiety was building around reports about her own daughters' pro-Russia foreign lobbying work, according to two sources familiar with the mood in the building. 

The White House was blindsided last week by a New York Times report that Chris LaCivita and James Blair, Trump's pair of trusted political hands, had spent the October 4 weekend in the Balkans, advising a Putin-aligned government that had claimed election victory.

It sparked widespread fury as the leaders of Trump's political operation for the 2026 midterms were out of the country scoring handsome consulting fees with just weeks to the election. Republicans are facing strong headwinds to keep their House and Senate majorities and GOP operatives are openly worried.

Wiles first met with her policy right-hand Walker Barrett before assembling other top White House aides, including Megan Bauer, head of Cabinet Affairs, for the early-morning powwow. 

Her message to staff, according to a source: the White House does not engage with the midterms... that's for 'Chris and James' to handle.

Notably, the White House's top media position was still vacant as the negative headlines piled up. Hours later, Trump announced he tapped Katie Zacharia, 41, a pro-MAGA commentator to fill the role of press secretary. 

A White House official pushed back, saying Wiles held her 'usual' morning meetings on Friday, but declined to characterize the nature of the conversations she had with staff. 

But Trump himself is 'furious,' an administration official said, and has been working the phones, calling allies to ask how he should handle the embarrassing disclosure about LaCivita and Blair. 

Trump allies face mounting scrutiny ahead of midterms 

Days earlier, Trump said he had found no conflict, but behind the scenes that tenor had changed. 

The turmoil has handed Democrats fresh ammunition just as early voting begins and the GOP's grip on Congress looks more flimsy by the October day, Republican operatives confess to the Daily Mail.

The Balkans trip saw LaCivita and Blair travel to Republika Srpska, an entity of Bosnia and Herzegovina, after the Putin-supporting Milorad Dodik claimed victory. It is only one of several headaches Trump is facing. 

The Daily Mail revealed Thursday that Kimberly Guilfoyle, Trump's ambassador to Greece, was under internal investigation over allegations surrounding her potential substance abuse, use of private planes and helicopters, close relationship with an energy and construction company, improper gift acceptance and more. 

Trump himself said he was 'not happy' with the negative press, and on Tuesday, Guilfoyle resigned as ambassador to Greece.

Last week CNN reported on the finances of Jared Kushner, the president's son-in-law, who serves as an unpaid White House adviser, alleging his investments in an Israeli company 'could be a major conflict of interest.' 

The row centered on Affinity Partners, Kushner's private equity firm. Affinity is the largest shareholder of Phoenix Financial, a massive Israeli company worth over $100 billion that handles pensions, insurance and savings for millions.

He fired back in a rare dictum, claiming that he had enough of the media's 'lies.'

Kushner shredded the CNN article for being 'deeply misleading' and noted that Affinity 'does not own the defense companies highlighted in CNN's story.' 

But the damage of the negative press may already have had a big enough impact. 

'The juxtaposition of those stories with the rising cost of gas and everyday goods, it's not a good one,' a senior GOP campaign operative said.

'The timing couldn't be worse. It shows a lack of seriousness from people who are otherwise or purportedly very serious individuals.'

Steve Bannon, a first-term Trump adviser, branded LaCivita and Blair 'grifters' on social media after the story broke.

A representative for LaCivita and Blair was contacted for comment. 

Democrats target Trump's inner circle over soaring living costs 

'The average American reports they can't afford to pay their grocery or gas bills,' former Kamala Harris advisor and Democratic strategist Mike Nellis told the Daily Mail. 'Donald Trump is focused on the wrong stuff.'

Democrats on the trail are contrasting voters' squeezed budgets with the fortunes being made in Trump's orbit.

Kushner, who leads US conflict negotiations as a volunteer adviser while overseeing a multi-billion-dollar private equity empire, has been targeted by South Carolina Democratic Senate hopeful Annie Andrews and Georgia Democratic Senator Jon Ossoff, who dubbed him 'Prince Jared.'

Kushner leads US conflict negotiations as an unpaid adviser while overseeing a multi-billion-dollar private equity firm.

A representative for Kushner was contacted for comment.

Ossoff, who political strategists believe to be laying the groundwork for a 2028 presidential bid, has also gone after the president's close aide Natalie Harp.

'If I'm the Democrats, I'm going to take whatever I can get; it's a midterm election year,' the national GOP operative said. 

Prediction market Kalshi gives Republicans a 38.5 percent chance of holding the Senate and just 10.6 percent of keeping the House. 

Texas Senate race threatens to drain GOP campaign funds 

Nowhere is the strain clearer than Texas, where the Senate race has already cost $300 million and is on track to reach half a billion, a source familiar with GOP spending told the Daily Mail. 

That is $100 million more than the party's original $400 million estimate.

The bill follows Trump's late endorsement of Attorney General Ken Paxton, who went on to topple incumbent Senator John Cornyn in May's runoff. Cornyn had warned a Paxton nomination would drain resources from other battlegrounds.

'Ken is going to be fine, it's just gonna cost a lot more money than we thought,' the national GOP operative said.

Polls show Paxton neck and neck with Democrat James Talarico. Paxton's campaign was contacted for comment.

The squeeze is being felt in Kansas, which last elected a Democratic senator in 1932. Cook Political Report this week moved Senator Roger Marshall's race against Democrat Adam Hamilton from Lean Republican to Toss Up.

A Democratic-aligned Senate Majority PAC pledged this week to spend $5 million on ads there.

Elsewhere, Alaska and Ohio will be 'knife fights,' Georgia is 'tough' and South Carolina will be fine as long as the GOP 'plays it safe,' the national operative said.

In the House, The Cook Political Report recently re-rated 18 seats in Democrats' favor.

The senior GOP operative blamed two headwinds of the administration's own making: 'Gas prices and the Iran War. Obviously, there are a lot of qualms about that.'