But the threats of termination and the rumored loyalty tests – which turned out to be accurate when staffers were asked in job interviews if they thought the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, though there has been no evidence of election fraud – may have been too aggressive.

In the weeks that followed, although the new RNC leadership quietly extended offers to a majority of former staffers, with the exception of those who worked in the RNC political department, some staffers on crucial teams declined to return, the sources said.

The situation means the RNC has been left without people with deep knowledge of election operations at the Republican party’s central committee, and who were willing to work for salaries far lower than what they could earn in the private sector.