Republican senator employs aide fired by DeSantis over neo-Nazi imagery

Nate Hochman, staffer for Eric Schmitt, also peddled far-right conspiracy theories as experts decry rise in extremism

A staffer for Missouri Republican senator Eric Schmitt was previously fired from Ron DeSantis's unsuccessful presidential campaign after making a video containing neo-Nazi imagery, and later peddled far-right conspiracy theories in a Marco Rubio-linked thinktank.

Nate Hochman's job in the hard-right senator's office, along with earlier Trump appointments to executive agencies, suggest to some experts there are few barriers to far-right activists making a career in Republican party politics.