Sen. Marco Rubio flies to Washington to FIRE his chief of staff for misconduct
Sen. Marco Rubio’s office put out a statement a little before midnight Saturday indicating the Florida Republican’s chief of staff had been axed
The statement said that Rubio became aware of allegations that the staffer, identified as Clint Reed, had inappropriate relations with subordinates
Not naming Reed in the statement, Rubio’s office said that the individual made ‘threats to withhold employment benefits’ from his victims
The senator flew from Florida to Washington, D.C. to oversee the termination of Reed, who was originally hired to work on Rubio’s presidential campaign
By NIKKI SCHWAB
DAILYMAIL.COM
28 January 2018
Sen. Marco Rubio traveled from Florida to Washington, D.C., Saturday to fire his Chief of Staff Clint Reed for misconduct.
Rubio, in a statement released by his office, said he had been made aware ‘for the first time’ Friday of allegations of improper conduct by the individual and gathered ‘sufficient evidence’ to conclude that he ‘violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates.’
‘I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgement amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits,’ the statement also read.
The Florida Republican said the allegations were told to him personally and he traveled from Florida to D.C. Saturday night and terminated his chief of staff’s employment ‘effective immediately.’
A statement about the incident went out a little before midnight on Saturday.
The statement didn’t name Reed as the offender, but Politico named the Arkansas native in its report on the matter.
Reed hasn’t spoken to the press.
Reed began working for Rubio as part of the senator’s 2016 presidential campaign, including efforts to win the Iowa caucuses, according to Politico.
Rubio came in a strong third after Sen. Ted Cruz and businessman Donald Trump, a performance that kept him in the Republican primaries until mid-March.
Reed stayed on with the senator once he pulled out of the presidential race and then assisted with his re-election bid, Politico said.
Rubio had originally said he wasn’t going to retain his Senate seat beyond the 2016 race, but bowed to pressure from the party and launched a re-election race, which he won soundly.
The fired aide also previously held positions with the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Arkansas.
In 2004, Reed oversaw the grassroots operation in Arkansas to get President George W. Bush re-elected. He also worked on Sen. Saxby Chambliss’ re-election campaign in 2008, tasked to help the Georgia Republican win his run-off race.
Reed was promoted to the role of Rubio’s chief of staff once Albert Martinez, a longtime Rubio aide, had moved on to a senior adviser role.
In the release noting the staff changes, Rubio called Reed a ‘superb manager who loves Florida, has earned my trust, and relishes the challenge of solving tough problems.’
Reed’s deputy, Jessica Fernandez, will take over his job. She’s the senator’s longtime scheduler.
‘We have taken steps to ensure that those impacted by this conduct have access to any services they may require now or in the future,’ the statement said. ‘Pursuant to the wishes of those victimized by this conduct, we will not be disclosing any further details about the incidents which occurred.’
Rubio’s office said it would notify the appropriate Congressional and Senate offices, come Monday, about what occurred.
The Rest…HERE
