Carson Campaign Claims Everything Is Still On Track As Another Aide Resigns

The turmoil in the Carson campaign continued today as the finance chair resigned, but the new campaign manager says everything is still running smoothly at headquarters.

In an email sent out Thursday morning, retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson’s campaign said it had accepted the resignation of finance chair Dean Parker.

“Dean has been a valued member of my campaign team and a trusted friend; I appreciate and honor Dean’s tireless efforts on behalf of saving America,” said a statement by Carson in the email.

Hours earlier, however, Politico reported that Parker was raising concerns about how he was allocating campaign funds. Politico wrote that Parker “piled up unnecessary expenses and paid hefty consulting fees to an inexperienced staff,” as well as gave himself a $20,000 per month salary.

Campaign manager Ed Brookover stood by Parker in a phone call with TIME Thursday, saying, “Dean did an honorable thing today. He did not want to become a distraction to the campaign … He did an honorable thing today and resigned working for a man he admired and still does.”

Barry Bennett, the former Carson campaign manager who resigned in December, had a different theory of why Parker resigned. “I think Armstrong was looking for someone to blame,” he said in an email to TIME, referring to Carson’s advisor Armstrong Williams. “I would say Armstrong has forced everyone out and now that it looks like the campaign is coming to an end he is looking for a scape goat and today it is Dean.”

Read More: Ben Carson’s Two Top Aides Resign

(After his resignation in December, Bennett told TIME that “they need some psychologists to figure [out]” Carson’s relationship with Williams, who does not have an official role in the campaign.)

Despite the loss of numerous top aides in the past few weeks, Brookover, who was formerly senior strategist and took over as campaign manager when Bennett left, says that everything is still on track. “General Dees … has moved quickly to organize us and brought on folks like Larry Ross and Chris Bourne in our communications and policy areas, and we’re just moving forward,” he said, referring to some new hires.

Read more: How to Watch Tonight’s Republican Debate Online

And with less than 20 days until Iowa, Brookover says the team is still confident. “In Dr. Carson’s last week and visits to Iowa there have been huge crowds, enthusiastic crowds… At one time people stood in the rain for two hours… So we feel good about where we are in Iowa,” he said.

According to Real Clear Politics, Carson is currently in fourth place in most polls of Iowa Republicans, behind businessman Donald Trump, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio.