Trump says he’ll terminate LaCivita, Blair if they have consulting conflicts

President Trump on Wednesday said he would terminate outside consultants Chris LaCivita and James Blair if their work conflicted with the White House, following a report that the two were in the Balkans advising a pro-Russian political party and made hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Trump appeared to distance himself from the work LaCivita and Blair did for Republika Srpska, saying that it was fine for his consultants to have additional contracts but that he knew nothing about that work.

“Chris LaCivita and James Blair are outside consultants. They do not work for me, other than as outside consultants,” Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social. “They most likely have numerous clients, but for that, you would have to ask them.”

“They are allowed to do work for others, just like all consultants in Washington, D.C.,” he continued. “I do not have any idea who else they work for but will, on reflection, ask them and, if there’s a conflict, I will terminate them, immediately!”

The New York Times reported Tuesday that the two went to Republika Srpska, a small self-governing territory in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The country’s elections are set to be on Sunday.

Blair and LaCivita were paid hundreds of thousands of dollars each through a Washington-based law firm that the Republika Srpska’s government hired to provide counsel on voting issues, the outlet reported.

While the Times noted that Blair and LaCivita were paid by the government and not the political party behind the government, it wrote that for all intent and purposes work for the governent and the party is the same thing.

The work was also notable in that it comes as Republicans are facing an uphill climb to save their House and Senate majorities. Trump has been traveling the U.S. to rally Republican support ahead of the midterms.

Blair served as White House deputy chief of staff but left for a temporary leave of absence in April to run Trump’s political operation for the midterms.

LaCivita previously served as a senior adviser to Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign.