‘The biggest utility player': Rep. Brian Jack sees star rise in Trump's Washington

Yahoo

01-05-2025

It was a Sunday morning in Las Vegas in December 2023 — after a night of fights at UFC 296 — and Brian Jack marched into the Trump International Hotel suite belonging to his boss, the former and future president, with a message: He wanted to run for Congress.
The seat for Georgia's 3rd Congressional District had opened up three days earlier and Jack — a Trump 2016 campaign staffer, first-administration White House political director and 2024 campaign senior adviser — was ready to make the jump from political operative to principal.
Trump promised Jack his 'full support,' in Jack's telling, but there was one condition: The pair agreed Jack would stay on the campaign until Trump secured the Republican nomination. A March 8 filing deadline loomed.
Super Tuesday was March 5. Nikki Haley withdrew from the GOP primary on March 6, cementing Trump's nod, and Jack filed his candidacy for the state's 3rd Congressional District on March 7. On March 9, the staffer-turned-candidate appeared with his longtime boss at a rally right outside his district, where the former president publicly endorsed his aide for the seat Jack interned for 17 years earlier.
The timeline is an encapsulation of Jack's relationship with Trump: a loyal, constant and omnipresent figure who helped the president at every step of his topsy-turvy political career.
Now the Georgia Republican is looking to continue that role from Capitol Hill.
Cheat sheet: 12 questions for Rep. Brian Jack
Jack — during a wide-ranging interview with The Hill in his Capitol office — said there is 'no question' he still considers himself part of the president's team, just from the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue.
'I think he, today, very much enjoys having somebody whose career was largely shaped by him in Congress with a vote in this institution,' Jack added.
The first-year congressman is already rising in the GOP ranks. In his first months on Capitol Hill Jack, has been appointed deputy chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC), where he will lead candidate recruitment; elected freshman representative on the powerful House GOP Steering Committee, where he helped secure plum committee assignments for a number of first-year lawmakers; and was chosen by the Speaker to serve on the key House Rules Committee.
'Is this guy the biggest utility player? Oh, by far. But what's more important is this guy has the brightest future,' said former Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who hired Jack to lead his political operation in 2021. 'He may just be a freshman, but I think he's probably one of the top five most important members in Congress because he knows the White House — not just the president — and the president has such respect for him.'
Trump is taking note. At the annual NRCC dinner earlier this month, the president praised Jack during his speech before scores of lawmakers.
'Brian Jack, who was with me from Day 1 of my political career,' Trump told the crowd. 'He's a fantastic guy and a great political leader, a great politician. … Great job, proud of you, Brian.'
When he decided to run for Congress, Jack — who at the time was one of three senior advisers leading Trump's 2024 campaign — gave up an opportunity to be a top White House official should Trump win another term.
But even without a White House title, Jack said he still sees himself as a 'very helpful political adviser' to Trump, a relationship that has been evident during his first few months in elected office.
In January, after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) was reelected to the top job on the first ballot following a whirlwind vote, Trump called Jack to see how his endorsement of Johnson played within the conference, according to a source familiar.
In March, Jack traveled to the White House with the rest of the first-term class to meet with Trump, during which the president asked his former aide to help facilitate conversations between him and the new lawmakers in the Oval Office. Jack felt a sense of déjà vu.
'It's almost as if he saw me, Brian's a staffer again, introducing me to people,' Jack said.
Johnson, who also maintains a close relationship with Trump, called Jack 'one of my favorite people in the world' and said his history with the president has been 'a great value' on Capitol Hill.
Jack says he speaks with Trump 'on average' once a week and maintains a close relationship with his team — many of whom worked hand-in-hand with him during the first-term, post-presidency era and 2024 campaign — including Susie Wiles, who also helped lead the campaign before becoming Trump's White House chief of staff.
'He's like a baby brother to me, he's like a son to the president,' Wiles said. 'He's close to us, he understands us, he understands the president, and yet he's committed to his new friends, his new colleagues in the House, makes him invaluable.'
'When something is really important, the president calls Brian. If he really needs something done, [the] president calls Brian,' she added.
Jack has also established a unique street cred among House Republicans, especially his first-term colleagues.
The freshman class elected Jack to serve as its representative on the Steering Committee — which determines committee assignments for the conference — joining McCarthy and former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) in holding the coveted position. And he used the post to give back to his colleagues: Nearly a third of the current freshmen landed on the House's four most influential panels — Ways and Means, Energy and Commerce, Appropriations, and Financial Services — lending a rare potency to the novice group.
Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas), the president of the freshman class, said Jack has been 'a good sounding board for ideas and thoughts' for the first-term lawmakers.
'He's a member that a lot of people look up to in a lot of different ways,' he added.
Even before entering Congress, Jack got to know several sitting and incoming members of Congress. He pointed to an initiative he coordinated for Trump after his presidency — having him endorse dozens of incumbents running for reelection and planning meetings between Trump and the candidates so they could develop relationships ahead of a potential return to the White House.
'This gave many of my current colleagues today a chance to have a one-on-one audience with the former, now current, leader of the free world, and those relationships that were developed are very helpful to him right now in Congress,' Jack said. 'But likewise, for me, [it] gave me a chance to have a lot of visibility and to earn a lot of trust from senior members of the conference, because they had a chance to work with me in that capacity.'
Wiles called Jack 'the computer of Donald Trump's endorsement record all this time.'
That endorsement effort appears to still be alive and well. Jack traveled with Johnson and NRCC Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) to the White House on Monday for a 2 p.m. meeting. Less than an hour later, the president fired off endorsements for four House Republicans.
At just 37 years old with a star-studded resume by Trump-era standards, Jack is seen among many as someone who could be a future member of House GOP leadership — especially at the NRCC, where he oversees candidate recruitment.
And of all the hats he wears, Jack — a self-proclaimed 'political guy' — has gravitated toward that job, which he sees as 'largely an extension' of his gigs with Trump.
'In years past during political meetings with House Republican leadership around candidates, I was the president's aide in the room with a slide deck walking through races,' Jack said. 'And now, I'll likely be a member of Congress, as the chair of the recruitment committee, in the exact same room, walking through races, just in a different role, which is a cool bookend to the entire experience.'
This time around, however, he is heading into the trenches at a crucial moment: House Republicans are hoping to defy the historical trend of the president's party losing seats in the midterm elections and grow their razor-thin majority in November 2026.
The preelection jitters are already beginning. Asked what his biggest worry is, Jack — whom McCarthy described as a 'political encyclopedia' — pointed to possible voter apathy.
'My biggest concern is that voters who were so enthusiastic about voting in 2024 don't return in the same numbers in 2026,' Jack said. 'The best way for us to correct that potential attrition is to sell, sell, sell the agenda we're going to pass over the next few months.'
But if Jack — a sports fanatic who fervently follows college basketball and roots for Georgia's teams — is open about his concerns, he is just as confident in his ability to beat the odds.
'I also know that I've got a specialty,' Jack said. 'I'm a political guy, I understand politics, I understand candidates, I understand races. That's a skill set that I want to deploy to help our conference out,' he said.
'For me, this is the best place for me to be, as deputy chair of the NRCC in charge of candidate recruitment and as one of the principal points of contact at the White House,' he added.
NRCC Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.) said Jack's political experience has been 'invaluable.'
'It's like, take a five-, six-year veteran and put him in that role, but he happens to be a freshman,' the NRCC chair said.
While Jack was eager to talk about his current gigs, he was far less chatty when it came to discussing his aspirations, if any, to climb the House leadership ladder.
'I don't want to be coy. But candidly speaking, I'm extremely excited about being deputy chair of the NRCC, I want to see how we do, that's really my commitment and focus,' he added. 'And as it relates to the broader scope, to me, I — like any member — want to accrue seniority and have an opportunity to be in a better position to help people in my district.'
Pressed on if he has an interest in being NRCC chair, Jack left the door open.
'There's no question that I'm interested in being one of President Trump's political eyes and ears, and if Chairman Hudson and I are successful at growing the majority, I'd love to continue to serve in whatever capacity that is,' he said.
While Jack is maintaining a modest approach, others are emphasizing the stock they see in him. Gingrich — a fellow Georgian whom Jack said he looks up to — said 'the sky's the limit' for the first-term congressman.
'I certainly don't know anybody who has a broader range of contacts or a greater trust — certainly as a freshman, but just in general — when you get below the leadership,' Gingrich said. 'He's a remarkable standout, and I think that is likely to grow because he works so hard and he thinks and he learns.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.