L.A. Olympics adds Republican figures to board who

LA28, the committee behind the upcoming Olympic Games, has quietly added high-profile Republicans with deep ties to President Trump to its board of administrators.

The 35-member volunteer board now contains former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Bakersfield Republican who resigned in 2023, and Reince Priebus, who served as Trump’s chief of employees for the first six months of his first time period and, before that, as chair of the Republican National Committee.

Diane Hendricks, a major GOP donor who has given thousands and thousands to Trump’s campaigns, and Patrick Dumont, who owns the Dallas Mavericks, also joined the board. Ken Moelis, an investment banker who labored with Trump in the Nineties and predicted the then businessman would win the presidency in 2016, is also on the roster.

The Trump-adjacent influx to the board of administrators, first reported by Politico, is the latest signal of the president’s doable involvement in the Summer Games.

It will not be clear why the administrators expanded the board or the factors used in the choice course of. A spokesperson for LA28 didn’t immediately reply to questions.

Not all of the new board members are tied to the president. Los Angeles business marketing consultant Denita Willoughby and philanthropist Maria Hummer-Tuttle had been also named to LA28.

“We are thrilled to welcome this accomplished group to the LA28 Board who will help create an unforgettable Games for athletes and fans alike,” Casey Wasserman, chair of the 2028 L.A. Olympics organizing committee, said in a ready assertion.

Wasserman couldn’t immediately be reached for remark.

Although past presidents have taken a largely ceremonial position when the Olympics are held on U.S. soil, there are indicators that Trump is searching for more involvement. The 2028 Games coincide with his last 12 months in workplace.

In August, he signed an government order naming himself chair of a White House process power on the Games. The president views the event as “a premier opportunity to showcase American exceptionalism,” according to a White House assertion.

Trump at the time famous that he’d be prepared to ship the army to Los Angeles to shield the Games. In June, he despatched the National Guard and U.S. Marines to town amid escalating immigration enforcement actions, prompting pushback from Mayor Karen Bass, Gov. Gavin Newsom and outrage from many residents.

Wasserman attended the chief order signing at the White House and thanked Trump for “leaning in” to planning for the Olympics.

“You’ve been supportive and helpful every step of the way,” Wasserman told the president at the time. “With the creation of this task force, we’ve unlocked the opportunity to level up our planning and deliver the largest and, yes, greatest Games for our nation, ever.”