Mitt Romney is bringing back a former top spokesman as the presumptive GOP nominee looks to beef up his messaging strategy in the wake of Republican criticism that his campaign has been too slow to respond to Democratic attacks.
Kevin Madden, a longtime GOP strategist who previously served as Romney's national press secretary during his 2008 presidential run, will take on a greater role within the campaign, sources close to the Romney camp tell Yahoo News.
Madden, who has been an outside adviser to Romney's 2012 campaign, will begin traveling with the candidate as soon as next week and will become a key public spokesman for the campaign. CBS News' Norah O'Donnell first reported Madden's return.
The move comes after withering criticism in recent days of Romney's communications operation. In a blistering editorial published Thursday, The Wall Street Journal's editorial board accused the Romney team of "slowly squandering a historic opportunity" to defeat President Barack Obama this fall.
For months, a growing number of Republicans have called on Romney to shake up his campaign team and add more seasoned political operatives. But there are no signs the former Massachusetts governor is going to retool his inner circle of key advisers, many of whom have been spending time with the candidate this week as he vacations in New Hampshire.