Jeb Bush's struggling campaign loses its chief operating officer

Jeb Bush's already struggling campaign suffered yet another blow Friday when its chief operating officer, Christine Ciccone, left the campaign. Ciccone is reportedly the "highest-ranking official known to lose her job in the campaign," and her departure comes just one week after the campaign announced it was slashing its payroll by 40 percent and downsizing its Miami headquarters. Ciccone was being paid about $12,000 a month — roughly $144,00 annually.

While Bush's campaign has maintained that they have made these cuts from a "position of strength" and that they still "expect to win," Ciccone's departure is yet another ominous sign. Bush is plummeting in the polls, and he floundered in the third Republican presidential debate this week, grabbing less speaking time than any other candidate. To top it off, a campaign memo obtained by U.S. News Friday revealed that Bush's campaign is only confident about getting the votes of 1,260 Iowans.

Bush spokesman Tim Miller's only comment about the chief operating officer's departure was that they had been glad to have her: "We are grateful to have had Christine on the team, we respect her immensely," he said. Ciccone's response, when asked for comment: "I've got no comment. I've just got to go."

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