James Blair, rejected for Republican National Committee political director in 2021, is now running President Donald Trump's White House political operation and directing the 2026 midterm strategy, according to a Politico article shared on X by @SophiaCai99 over the past 90 minutes ending at 3:45 a.m. UTC on Dec. 28. The article, titled 'Brilliant James: How James Blair took Washington by storm,' details Blair's rapid ascent in four years and is accessible at https://www.politico.com/news/2025/12/27/brilliant-james-how-james-blair-took-washington-by-storm-00706272, as posted at https://x.com/SophiaCai99/status/2005024811433480241 during the reporting window from 2:15 a.m. to 3:45 a.m. UTC. In a separate development shared in the same period, the Wall Street Journal reported that a cannabis company CEO led an aggressive influence campaign convincing Trump to reschedule marijuana, culminating in an Oval Office meeting involving a Florida sheriff, Dr. Mehmet Oz, others, and House Speaker Mike Johnson on the phone, according to an article posted on X by @jdawsey1 at https://x.com/jdawsey1/status/2005069141066350953. The WSJ piece, 'How Trump Became the Unlikely Champion of Easing Marijuana Restrictions,' provides a free link at https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/how-trump-became-the-unlikely-champion-of-easing-marijuana-restrictions-54ce34f8.
