Stevens campaign parts ways with consultant after Palantir work comes to light

A campaign consultant advising U.S. Rep. Haley Stevens (D-Birmingham) in her bid for the U.S. Senate was recently let go from the campaign due to her side work consulting for Big Tech and surveillance company Palantir, co-founded by controversial technologist Peter Thiel.

Cailin Legacki, of Legacki Consulting and formerly one of Stevens’ key spokespeople during her 2026 primary run, had her contract terminated recently after the Stevens campaign learned of her work with Palantir, a spokesperson for Stevens told Michigan Advance on Thursday.

Stevens’ campaign did not elaborate on when it first knew of Legacki’s work for Palantir or when exactly her contract was terminated.

In an interview, Legacki told the Advance that she still supports Stevens in her race against Dr. Abdul El-Sayed in the Democratic U.S. Senate primary and that she did not want this to be a distraction for the campaign.

“I have always been very clear about how I view these types of issues, and I think it’s important to engage on these substantive issues and try to improve their outcomes,” Legacki said of her outside consulting work. “Haley is doing her campaign and she’s fighting really hard for Michigan, and she’s right to not let this be a distraction.”

Legacki said she still believes Stevens is the better choice for Michigan over El-Sayed, and she said “it’s a really sad state of affairs that Michigan voters know more about my sources of income than Abdul El-Sayed’s.”

“I’ll just leave it at that,” Legacki said, referring to a recent attack the Stevens campaign has leveled against El-Sayed for not releasing his most recent personal finance disclosures — which are not due until after the primary — before voters cast their ballots in the August election.

El-Sayed’s campaign used the opportunity to frame Legacki as having conflicting loyalties while working for the Stevens campaign.

“Congresswoman Stevens said she’ll stand up to ICE, all while she took talking points and advice from a compromised corporate apologist now revealed to be a key advisor in Trump’s deportation machine,” said El-Sayed spokesperson Roxie Richner. “Perhaps it’s why Stevens voted to thank and fund ICE. Abdul has been clear and consistent on his stance since 2018: Abolish ICE.”

Palantir has become a controversial company over the past several years due to its connection to AI software development and heavy data mining operations that have embedded the company within the federal government during President Donald Trump’s second term. The company has its hands in government surveillance, and has been assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement with software and technology resources to identify and track migrants for deportation.

Thiel is also heavily associated with another controversial technologist — Elon Musk — as the pair founded PayPal. Thiel also supported and bankrolled the political aspirations of Vice President JD Vance.

The connection to ICE is complicated particularly for Stevens as the campaign has said that one its key positions is holding ICE responsible for their recent legal overreaches and violence against migrants and U.S. citizens alike. Stevens does not support abolishing the agency but reforming it instead.

 “Haley believes ICE is out of control, putting Michiganders in danger, and needs an immediate overhaul,” Stevens spokesperson Arik Wolk told the Advance. “That’s why she’s voted against giving them another cent without serious reforms, including prosecuting any ICE agents who commit crimes and abuse their power, forcing ICE agents to wear proper ID and prohibiting them from wearing masks to conceal their identities, and taking away their $75 billion slush fund.”

Wolk also said that the campaign was unaware of Legacki’s work with the company.

The news of Legacki’s departure was first reported by Ryan Grim of Dropsite News. Grim said he uncovered her dual role as a consultant with Palantir and asked the campaign for a comment. Legacki’s contract with the campaign was terminated after Grim reached out for comment.

Grim also noted that Legacki was a senior fellow for Third Way, a center-left think tank. Grim reports that Third Way has “played heavily” in the August primary race between Stevens and El-Sayed, who are both vying for the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination to face Republican former U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers in the fall.

Legacki said that she worked for Stevens’ campaign for eight months, and that between December 2025 and March 2026 was paid $35,000 for her work.

Over that period, Legacki said Stevens’ messaging has been focused on wanting to help Michiganders of all stripes, and even if she’s no longer with the campaign, “that doesn’t change.”

“I think that approach to governing is really important,” she said.

Given that Legacki still supports Stevens, the Advance asked if the split was amicable or if it was a one-sided termination. Legacki said she could not comment on her internal conversations with the campaign that led to her departure.

Asked whether she planned to continue to consult for Palantir, Legacki said she does not discuss internal information regarding her work with clients.