Florida Senator Fires Chief Of Staff Over 'Inappropriate Conduct’

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said late Saturday that he fired his chief of staff following allegations of "improper conduct" stemming from inappropriate relations with subordinates. Rubio did not identify his chief of staff by name but Clint Reed had been serving in that capacity and continued to list the position in his LinkedIn profile as of early Sunday. Rubio said his chief of staff allegedly threatened subordinates with withholding employment benefits.

“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," Rubio said in a statement. "I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgement amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits."

Reed managed Rubio's U.S. Senate re-election campaign and his presidential primary campaigns in Iowa and Florida prior to being named chief. A native of Arkansas, Reed had been a partner at Impact Management Group, a public affairs firm headquartered in Little Rock with clients that had included federal, state and local political campaigns.

“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 in the 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.”

When Rubio named Reed to be his chief of staff, he praised Reed’s managerial skills.

“For over a year, I’ve gotten to know and work closely with Clint on my campaigns, including two in Florida,” Rubio said at that time. “He’s a superb manager who loves Florida, has earned my trust, and relishes the challenge of solving tough problems.”

Earlier in his career, Reed also served as Southeast Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee. During that period, Reed led the get-out-the-vote program that re-elected Georgia Sen. Saxby Chambliss in a special election and played a key role in re-electing Republican governors in Mississippi and Louisiana. He has also served as executive director of the Republican Party of Arkansas and managed grassroots operations for the 2004 Bush-Cheney re-election in Arkansas.

“This evening, I traveled from Florida to Washington D.C. and terminated his employment effective immediately,” Rubio added on Saturday in announcing the termination.

“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 explained. “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.”

Photo courtesy Sen. Marco Rubio