House Majority Leader Eric Cantor's deputy chief of staff, Brad Dayspring, has resigned, NBC News confirmed Saturday morning. Steve Stombres, Cantor's chief of staff, released the following statement:
"Deputy Chief of Staff Brad Dayspring has resigned to pursue other opportunities. Brad will be missed and we wish Brad all the best luck in his future endeavors. He was a valued employee and did an outstanding job defining and defending our Republican Majority."
Late last night, rumors of Dayspring's departure began circulating around Capitol Hill. At this point, the circumstances surrounding his departure are unclear, and sources close to the situation have been uncharacteristically tight-lipped, citing a respect for office privacy.
Well known in Washington for his hard-charging and often combative demeanor with the press, Dayspring had achieved a reputation as a "ferocious pit bull," according to a GOP aide. Deeply loyal to his former boss, perhaps more than anybody else, Dayspring had been involved in the cultivation of Cantor's political image, which an aide described as a "consistent conservative" over the last two and a half years.
While Dayspring will leave the confines of his second-floor office at the Capitol, he won't be straying too far from the Cantor operation: He'll take a job with Cantor's super PAC, the Young Gun Action Fund. John Murray, its president, said in a statement:
"It is with great enthusiasm that we're adding Brad Dayspring as a Senior Advisor to our team. When Young Guns was formed it was designed to help leaders like Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarty chart a new course for the center-right movement and the House majority. Brad's years of work both on Capitol Hill and in the campaign world are a perfect blend to help take us to the next level."
NBC News Capitol Hill producer Frank Thorp contributed to this report.
