Freshman Rep. Brian Jack (R-GA) left the White House in 2021 without knowing his next moment in the building would be a special one.
Four years later, Jack would witness President Donald Trump’s signing of the Laken Riley Act, the first bill he co-sponsored as a member of Congress.
He told the Washington Examiner it was a “surreal” moment.
For one, Jack previously worked for Trump’s winning presidential campaigns before he became a member of Congress. He witnessed every turn — from Trump’s rapid 2016 “build the wall” rise to the president donning a McDonald’s uniform and serving up fries in 2024.
One campaign capitalized centrally on immigration fears that had been building during the Obama administration; the other likely found its strongest influence among voters who were scared about paying their bills.
But secondly, Jack had been around a campaign centered on Trump, who has had the main theme of his campaign revolving around immigration from 2016, 2020, and 2024. And the first bill Jack co-sponsored centers on Laken Riley, a Georgia college student murdered by an illegal immigrant.
He had a political career well before taking office.
Jack worked on Ben Carson’s 2016 presidential campaign before joining Trump as he became the front-runner for the Republican nomination. He met Trump for the first time in the basement of the Capital One Center before he delivered a speech for AIPAC, an organization for which Jack used to work.
“It’s remarkable to think about how our relationships progressed since then, and nine years, later, I’m a member of Congress, and he’s a second-term president,” he reflected.
The Georgia native worked on Trump’s 2016 campaign as a national delegate director. When Trump emerged victorious over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Jack served as special assistant to the president and deputy White House political director. He later earned a promotion to White House political director and assistant to the president.
Right as Trump announced his 2024 campaign, Jack joined the movement as a senior adviser, working alongside critical campaign players such as Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita.
Jack then turned up the heat on his political career, announcing a run for Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District. He’d face a heavy hitter in the Republican primary: Georgia Senate Majority Leader Mike Dugan, a politician with more than a decade of experience.
The congressman went to a runoff in the primary against Dugan, where he won decisively.
A large part of the victory was an enthusiastic Trump endorsement.
“Brian joined my campaign in 2016,” the president said in a video. “He’s been with me right from the beginning of my political career. There’s nobody that knows more about politics and there’s nobody that loves Georgia or the United States more than him.”
“He has my complete and total endorsement,” Trump continued, “and he will never, ever let you down.”
Jack didn’t credit himself or his political skills for his win, which he carried into an easy general election win in November. He pointed toward the power of Trump’s support.
“I’m a member of Congress because of President Trump,” he said. “The amount of trust the electorate has in his picks, his endorsements is profound.”
He’s thankful to have had the opportunity to work with Trump over the years, which led to him becoming the third Trump campaign staffer after Reps. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Max Miller (R-OH) to be elected to the House.
“I’ve had the great fortune, rather the great honor, of serving by him for nine years, and particularly in his post-presidency,” Jack said. “We grew very close, and I’m incredibly grateful because when I had the conversation with him about running for Congress, he was incredibly supportive.”
Jack recalled how throughout his own demanding campaign, Trump called him to ask him how he was faring himself. And then on the night of Trump’s second presidential triumph, he gave Jack another special moment.
He called to congratulate him.
“The fact that he took time to spend congratulating me on one of the most important nights in his life demonstrates to me just how thoughtful he is and the type of relationship that I hope to build upon to help the people in my district,” he said.
Those close to Jack believe it’s his prudence that resonates with Trump and that the president recognizes an acuteness in the Georgia representative.
Now in office, Jack hopes to continue hammering immigration issues that he says have broad support among the public.
“I think the electorate is very frustrated with what they perceive to be preferential treatment for citizens of other countries at the expense of American citizens, and they particularly are saddened as we all are when citizens of other countries, like Lincoln Riley’s killer, terrorize American citizens,” Jack told the Washington Examiner.
The Laken Riley Act will require the Department of Homeland Security to detain illegal immigrants who commit certain crimes. Riley’s killer, José Antonio Ibarra, would have been detained under the act for prior crimes. The bill drew support from 46 House Democrats and 12 Senate Democrats in a marked moment of bipartisanship as the Democratic Party faces a shift to the right on immigration.
Jack hopes to continue working with Trump on other issues as well, including co-sponsoring potential legislation moving federal agencies to areas they most directly affect outside of Washington. Jack cited the Department of Interior’s shift of the Bureau of Land Management’s headquarters to Colorado in 2019.
A move of the Department of Agriculture to a farming community such as his own district would make sense, he said, or the DHS headquartered in a border state.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
But it’s the Laken Riley Act that will always resonate for him. He said it was a “very, very” special moment.
“It was extreme relief for our country that he’s our president,” Jack said of the thoughts running through his mind as Trump signed the act. “Extreme happiness for him having served by his side throughout the four years of his post-presidency, and having seen him endure countless attacks from the system of justice, from the media, from friends, from former colleagues of his. Just extreme satisfaction to see him presiding over our country and signing [our] first piece of legislation into law.”
