Story highlights The DNC was rocked by hacks, accusations of favoritism and leadership shakeups during the 2016 campaign

Committee staffers expected the request

Washington (CNN) Newly installed Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez has asked all the committee's staffers to submit their resignations by April 15 as he begins an overhaul of the party's organization.

The house-cleaning move means Perez can start from scratch as he remakes a DNC that was rocked by hacks, accusations of favoritism and leadership shakeups during the 2016 campaign.

"This is longstanding precedent at the DNC and has happened during multiple chair transitions," DNC spokeswoman Xochitl Hinojosa said. "The process was started before the election of the new chair. From the beginning, Tom has been adamant that we structure the DNC for future campaigns. Current and future DNC staff will be integral to that effort."

Leah Daughtry, an adviser to interim chair Donna Brazille and the chief executive officer of the 2016 Democratic National Convention, sent a letter asking every party staffer to submit letters of resignation dated April 15 immediately after Perez won the DNC chair race a month ago. NBC News first reported the request

DNC staffers expected the request. The party had already been operating at reduced staffing levels, and had brought on some staffers on temporary contracts.

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