5 Members Out Of Jobs Amid GOP Backlash

Topline

Vermont state Sen. Sam Douglass said he will resign in the wake of revelations he participated in a Young Republicans group chat in which members fantasized about violence against their enemies, celebrated Hitler and repeatedly used racist slurs—at least the fifth member of the chat to resign from their job.

A video message from President Donald Trump plays at the New York Young Republican Club’s Annual Gala at Cipriani Wall Street in New York City on December 15, 2024. (Photo by ADAM GRAY/AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

Key Facts

Douglass, who was quoted by Politico using a racist epithet about Indian people in the Telegram chat Politico reported on Tuesday, said in a statement Friday he would step down, effective Monday, after Republican Gov. Phil Scott called on him to resign.

In addition to Douglass, Peter Giunta’s time as chief of staff to Republican New York Assemblymember Mike Reilly “has ended,” Reilly told Politico, and Joseph Maligno is no longer employed at the New York Unified Court System, the outlet reported.

The job statuses of two other members changed after Politico began making inquiries about the chat before the article published on Tuesday: William Hendrix is “no longer employed” at Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach’s office, and Bobby Walker will not move forward with plans to work on New York congressional candidate Peter Oberacker’s campaign, according to Politico.

In the chat, Giunta, then-chair of the New York State Young Republicans, suggested anyone who voted against him becoming chair of the Young Republican National Federation “is going to the gas chamber,” likened watching an NBA game to watching “monkey play ball,” referred to Black people as “the watermelon people,” expressed support for slavery, and wrote “I love Hitler,” Politico reported.

Maligno, who previously identified himself as general counsel for the New York State Young Republicans, reportedly responded to Giunta’s gas chamber suggestion by writing “Can we fix the showers? Gas chambers don’t fit the Hitler aesthetic.”

Hendrix, vice chair of the Kansas Young Republicans, allegedly used the terms “n—ga” and “n—guh” more than a dozen times, and Walker, vice chair of the New York State Young Republicans at the time, referred to rape as “epic” and used the term “f——t,” among other troubling messages.

Chief Critics

The Young Republican National Federation said it was “appalled by the vile and inexcusable language revealed in the Politico article” in a statement that said “those involved must immediately resign from all positions within their state and local Young Republican organizations.” The New York State Republican Party also voted unanimously Friday to disband the New York chapter of the Young Republicans in the wake of the report. “The Young Republicans was already grossly mismanaged, and vile language of the sort made in the group chat has no place in our party or its subsidiary organizations,” New York GOP chair Ed Cox said in a statement, according to Politico.

Tangent

Giunta apologized for the messages in a statement to Politico, but claimed they were “sourced by way of extortion” and questioned whether they were “deceptively doctored.” Walker said he believes some of the chat “may have been altered, taken out of context, or otherwise manipulated, but also apologized. Maligno and Hendrix did not respond to Politico’s request for comment.

Crucial Quote

Vice President JD Vance dismissed the messages as a “college group chat” in a post on X and instead said previously reported texts from Virginia Democratic attorney general Jay Jones musing about shooting his political opponent were “far worse,” adding “I refuse to join the pearl clutching when powerful people call for political violence.”

Key Background

The Young Republican National Federation is a longstanding political organization made up of 15,000 members ages 18-40. The messages Politico obtained took place between January and mid-August among a dozen Republicans campaigning for control of the national Young Republican organization. Politico reported that it received the chat records as it was investigating allegations of financial mismanagement of the Young Republicans’ New York chapter, which is more than $38,000 in debt, according to records cited by the outlet. At least one person in the chat, Michael Bartels, works for the Trump administration as senior adviser in the office of general counsel in the Small Business Administration, according to Politico, which reported his participation in the chat was minimal.