Newly elected National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) Chair Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) has assembled a transition team and a core group of advisers to figure out what went wrong for Republicans in 2026. The group has also been tasked with mapping out a road back to the Senate majority in 2028.
The roster includes a mix of people who have won Senate majorities before and the Trump political operation that helped Moreno defeat Sherrod Brown in 2024.
There are some notable names.
On the transition team is Jason Thielman, who was the NRSC's executive director in 2024, the cycle in which Republicans won the Senate. Ward Baker ran the committee in 2016, when Republicans held the majority.
Winners. The Senate GOP needs to pivot back to winners. Will this get the job done?
GOP megadonor and Blackstone executive Wayne Berman is on board, along with Paula Dukes, a longtime fundraiser for John Thune. RedState readers will no doubt have their own thoughts on that last one.
Then there's Scott Jennings.
Jennings, the former McConnell aide turned TV commentator, has become one of the most recognizable conservative voices in the country, largely by appearing on cable news panels and dismantling Democrats who thought they had him cornered. Now he's helping build the operation meant to take the Senate back from them.
SCOOP: Moreno is bringing in top GOP brass to asses what went wrong in 2026, reassure top donors and map out a comeback in 2028 Transition team: -Wayne Berman -Ward Baker -Jason Thielman -Scott Jennings He’ll also rely on a group of advisors: -Andy Surabian -Chris Grant -Tony Fabrizio -Phil Letsou https://t.co/UfNt5eUQes
— Stef Kight (@StefWKight) November 12, 2026
Moreno's core advisers lean even harder into Trumpworld, according to Axios. They include Andy Surabian, who has close ties to JD Vance and Donald Trump Jr., and Chris Grant, the chief strategist on Moreno's 2024 campaign. Trump's longtime pollster Tony Fabrizio, who worked on all three of Trump's presidential runs, is also on the list.
Moreno's chief of staff, Phil Letsou, rounds out the group.
This isn't the final NRSC staff. Axios reports the team is merely beginning interviews for senior positions, including executive director. But it's a clear indicator of which direction Moreno is heading.
"The road ahead back to a Republican Senate majority will by no means be easy, but the fight has never been so important," he said in a statement.
He was even more blunt speaking with Fox News Digital, calling the 2028 map "absolutely brutal."
Moreno, though, is betting Democrats will overplay their hand. And that's certainly a possibility. They will lean into the extremism taking over the party, and the investigations into President Trump and his administration that my colleague Becky Noble already explained are not a top priority for the American people.
"I suspect the best tailwind we'll have is that the Democrats will learn all the wrong lessons," he told reporters.
They usually do. But it’s quite the quandary. They learned all the wrong lessons in 2020 and almost drove the nation off a cliff. Can we survive that kind of effort again for two years? Or even beyond that, as Elon Musk warned?
Senate leadership is going with the status quo after a bad election. Moreno, meanwhile, is bringing in people who know how to win, plus a guy who makes a habit of destroying Democrats on messaging. It's a start.
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