Washington moves of the week: A top Trump White House staffer lands a TV gig and a former Kamala Harris aide heads to a lobbying firm

  • Republican lawmakers in both the Senate and House made a lot of hires to their offices.
  • A former top Trump White House staffer lands a job on a Fox daytime program.
  • Advocacy groups and lobbying firms are also hiring former congressional staffers.
  • See more stories on Insider’s business page.

It’s Washington, so of course, people are always moving around for new gigs. This week, Fox News landed a high-level alumni of the Trump White House briefing room. Over on Capitol Hill, Republican lawmakers added new people to their teams, including one former Trump staffer who worked in the Department of Labor returning to the House side.

Advocacy groups and lobbying firms are also hiring new talent, including a former policy adviser to then-Sen. Kamala Harris, to help shape policies in Washington. 

Here’s Insider’s rundown of the biggest staff moves for the week of March 29.

Capitol Hill

Patrick Bond, will join the office of Sen. Angus King, an independent of Maine, as his senior policy adviser for energy and environmental issues. He previously served as a legislative director for Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat of Texas.

Hunter Lovell, was recently hired to serve as the press secretary for Rep. Steve Scalise, a Republican of Louisiana. He previously served as a press assistant for Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Republican of Louisiana.

Kiera O’Brien will be joining the office of Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican of Alaska, as a correspondence manager and will focus on energy and climate policy. She previously was the founder and president of Young Conservatives for Carbon Dividends.

Joseph Gollinger will serve as a legislative assistant to Rep. Diana Harshbarger, a Republican of Tennessee. Gollinger previously worked in the Department of Labor’s Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs as a case officer and then as a legislative officer.

Olivia Elkins, is joining the office of Sen. Patty Murray, a Democrat of Washington, as a legislative aide. Elkins previously served as a legislative correspondent for Rep. Eric Swalwell, a Democrat of California.

Liz Hipple announced that she will be a senior policy analyst on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee. She previously was senior policy adviser at the Washington Center for Equitable Growth.

Former White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany is headed to Fox News.Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Communications and Media

Former Trump White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany will be the newest co-anchor of Fox News daytime show “Outnumbered.” She starts her new gig on April 6. 

Michael Starr Hopkins signed on with the corporate public affairs firm Firehouse Strategies as senior vice president. Hopkins was the national press secretary for John Delaney’s 2020 Democratic presidential campaign.

Natalie Shure is joining The New Republic as a columnist. Her work primarily focuses on health, history and politics. 

Ruby Cramer will start a new job as a senior staff writer for POLITICO and its magazine. She will be writing profiles and enterprise stories. She recently was a political reporter at Buzzfeed.

Emily Birnbaum will be joining POLITICO as a reporter covering tech lobbying. She previously reported for Protocol and The Hill. 

Adam Creighton is now a Washington correspondent for The Australian. He was previously the publication’s economics editor. 

Alex Cranz will join The Verge as a managing editor. She previously worked as a freelance journalist, where her stories appeared in The Wall Street Journal, WIRED and Medium.

Matthew Bartlett and Scott Merrick are creating their own bipartisan PR firm. They both met while working on Capitol Hill. Bartlett worked for then-Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a Republican of New Hampshire. Merrick worked for Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat of New Hampshire.

Lobbying firms and advocacy groups

Yasmin Rigney Nelson will become a partner at the lobbying firm Bracewell LLP. She will be advising clients on economic policy and financial service issues. She previously served as a senior policy advisor to Harris when she was in the Senate. 

Emily Harding will join the Center for Strategic and International Studies as a senior fellow and as the deputy director of the international security program. She most recently served as the former deputy staff director of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

Jeremy Scott is now a senior vice president of healthcare policy at Cavarocchi Ruscio Dennis Associates, L.L.C. The government relations vet began his career handling Medicare/Medicaid issues for then-Sen. Mike DeWine, a Republican of Ohio. 

Madeline Sweitzer is now a senior research associate at American Bridge PAC, which supports Democratic political candidates. She was previously a researcher at Accountable.US.

Bobby Fraser is now vice president of communications for Nahigian Strategies, a strategic communications and public relations firm. He most recently served as director of public affairs and assistant to former Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao.

Christy Gleason, will become the executive director of Save the Children Action Network and vice president of policy, advocacy and campaigns for Save the Children. She was previously the strategist and policy advisor to Sen. Chris Coons, a Democrat of Delaware. 

John Drake is now vice president for supply chain policy at the US Chamber of Commerce. He previously worked as the Chamber’s executive director of supply chain policy.

Venicia Gray will join The National Partnership for Women and Families as the new manager for maternal and infant health on the Partnership’s Health Justice Team. She previously was the associate director for federal and state affairs for the March of Dimes.

Jaymi Light is joining Cigna as a government affairs principal. Light previously worked as health policy director for Sen. Todd Young, a Republican of Indiana.

Source: Read Full Article