Tea Partier Katrina Pierson Returns to Trump Campaign as Team Aims to Minimize 2018 Damage

WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump's reelection campaign has rehired Katrina Pierson, the combative Dallas-area tea party veteran who served as a public face of his 2016 White House run.Pierson will serve as a senior advisor assigned to leading national grassroots outreach, Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale announced Tuesday. That's an important role for 2020 and even more so for 2018, when the midterms present a more immediate challenge for Trump.Control of Congress is on the line in November. Recent elections in New Jersey and Virginia have already handed setbacks to Republicans. The GOP has been struggling to hold onto a U.S. House seat in western Pennsylvania, and Trump has stumped there twice ahead of a special election Tuesday that will provide an important test of Democrats' ability to harness anti-Trump sentiment. A Democratic majority in the House might be inclined to pursue impeachment. At a minimum, loss of the House or Senate would imperil Trump's agenda on immigration, taxes, trade and a host of other issues, giving urgency to an early push by the president's political operation.Pierson will be at the center of such efforts.Since Trump took office she has been working with America First Policies, a group formed to promote Trump's agenda. She will be based in Washington. Although she didn't join the administration, she has been spotted often at the White House and has remained a favorite.  Continue reading...