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New Democratic Party chief Tom Perez asks for staff-wide resignations

By Doug G. Ware
New Democratic National Committee Chairman Thomas Perez asked for the resignations of all party staffers on Tuesday in the first step of a rebuild of the party after election losses in November. The overhaul has been anticipated since Perez was named party chairman in February. File Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/UPI/Pool
New Democratic National Committee Chairman Thomas Perez asked for the resignations of all party staffers on Tuesday in the first step of a rebuild of the party after election losses in November. The overhaul has been anticipated since Perez was named party chairman in February. File Photo by T.J. Kirkpatrick/UPI/Pool | License Photo

March 28 (UPI) -- The new head of the Democratic National Committee began the long-promised overhaul of the organization on Tuesday, asking for the resignations of all staff members in the first step to rebuild the party after November's demoralizing defeats.

DNC Chairman Tom Perez called for the letters Tuesday, although his interim predecessor had previously asked staff to submit and date them April 15 in anticipation of the leadership turnover.

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The move is part of the committee's restructuring process that was expected after multiple election night defeats, most notably that of presidential nominee Hillary Clinton -- and has been considered imminent since Perez was selected as party chairman in February.

A committee advising Perez on future movements is now interviewing potential staffers, NBC News reported.

"This is longstanding precedent at the DNC and has happened during multiple chair transitions," DNC spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said Tuesday. "The process was started before the election of the new chair. From the beginning, Tom has been adamant that we structure the DNC for future campaigns. Current and future DNC staff will be integral to that effort."

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The organization has been running on a reduced staff since layoffs were first initiated in December.

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