Rubio fires chief of staff for improper relations with lower level employees

Senator Marco Rubio fired his chief of staff Clint Reed late Saturday night after determining that his top staffer violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and subordinates along with threatening to withhold employee benefits.

“Yesterday (Friday) 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 in a statement. “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.”

Rubio then concluded by Saturday afternoon that there was sufficient evidence that Reed “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.”

He then traveled to Washington from Florida and fired Reed on Saturday evening. Reed could not be reached for comment and Rubio’s office asked for privacy, citing the wishes of those victimized by Reed’s conduct.

“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 said in a statement. “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.”

Reed, an Arkansas native, had worked as Rubio’s top staffer since January 2017 after managing the Florida Republican’s successful 2016 U.S. Senate campaign. He also worked on Rubio’s presidential campaign as a senior adviser and Iowa State director. He held previous posts with the Republican National Committee and the Republican Party of Arkansas.

This story was originally published January 28, 2018 at 9:56 AM with the headline "Rubio fires chief of staff for improper relations with lower level employees."