On Saturday, Florida Republican Senator Marco Rubio fired his chief of staff after hearing allegations of improper conduct with subordinates in his Senate office.
Rubio said he was first made aware of the accusations against Clint Reed on Friday.
“Yesterday afternoon, I was made aware, for the first time, of allegations of improper conduct by my chief of staff while under the employment of my office,” Rubio said on Saturday. “These allegations were reported directly to me instead of our general counsel or the Congressional Office of Compliance. Immediately upon receiving this complaint, I along with our general counsel, began an investigation of this matter.
“By early this afternoon, I had sufficient evidence to conclude that while employed by this office, my chief of staff had violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates. I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgment amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits,” Rubio continued. “This evening, I traveled from Florida to Washington D.C. and terminated his employment effective immediately.
“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,” Rubio continued. “Pursuant to the wishes of those victimized by this conduct, we will not be disclosing any further details about the incidents which occurred. We will be formally notifying the appropriate Congressional and Senate administrative offices of this matter when they return to work Monday morning.”
Rubio named Reed to the post in December 2016 after winning a second term in the U.S. Senate. Reed replaced longtime Rubio staffer Alberto Martinez.
“For over a year, I’ve gotten to know and work closely with Clint on my campaigns, including two in Florida. He’s a superb manager who loves Florida, has earned my trust, and relishes the challenge of solving tough problems,” Rubio said when he named Reed to the post. “The next six years will undoubtedly present many challenges but also incredible opportunities to make an even bigger difference in the lives of Floridians and people throughout the country, and I’m excited to be surrounded with a team of devoted professionals who are passionate about public service.”
Reed was part of Rubio’s presidential campaign, leading his efforts in Iowa and Florida. Before that, he worked for the Republican Governors Association (RGA) and as Southeast Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee (RNC). Reed has ties to Arkansas where he served as executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas and was part of the Bush-Cheney team in that state back in 2004.
