Schultz recruiting GOP insiders ahead of possible 2020 bid

Former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz has recruited at least three veteran House Republican staffers and consultants to join his presidential campaign-in-waiting, bringing on seasoned and well-connected GOP operatives who know their way around the very political apparatus helping to reelect President TrumpDonald John TrumpCohen directed attorney to seek possible Trump pardon following FBI raid: report DOJ taps former Mueller prosecutor to run foreign lobbying unit Giuliani says lawyers have approached him seeking Trump's pardon: NY Times MORE in 2020.They include Brendon DelToro and Matt LoParco, who served as deputy political director and external affairs director, respectively, to former National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) Chairman Rep. Steve StiversSteven (Steve) Ernst StiversNew push to open banks to marijuana industry Steve King asks for Congressional Record correction over white supremacist quote Rep. Steve King pushes GOP to reinstate his committee assignments MORE (R-Ohio) during the 2018 cycle.A third Schultz hire, GOP consultant Greg Strimple, founder of GS Strategy Group, has done polling and other consulting for the NRCC, the National Republican Senatorial Committee and the Congressional Leadership Fund, the super PAC aligned with former Speaker Paul RyanPaul Davis RyanScarborough blasts ‘inhumane’ CPAC reference to the ‘ghost’ of John McCain Meghan McCain slams 'ghoulish' CPAC reference to her father's 'ghost' Cindy McCain rips conservative commentator over CPAC address MORE (R-Wis.) and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthyKevin Owen McCarthyAlaskan becomes longest serving Republican in House history GOP lawmaker asks Cohen to reveal any 'cooperation' with Dems on congressional testimony Trump, GOP continue to undermine protections for people with pre-existing conditions MORE (R-Calif.), according to campaign finance reports.The hires are reflective of Schultz’s efforts to cast himself as a political centrist who doesn’t neatly fit into the rank-and-file of either major party.