We have dualing realities going on at all times in American politics today. But evidently Mike Johnson’s three aides who resigned to go into lobbying are not listening to the polls which assure a major Trump victory in the fall, because they decided to get out of Dodge and now. And why would they do that if the sailing was so smooth, hmm? Their defection cripples Johnson but as everyone knows, Johnson wouldn’t still be holding the Speaker’s gavel but for the Democrats, who are the adults in the room, since the GOP caucus has elected to let MAGA rule. Punchbowl News:
Three leading members of Speaker Mike Johnson’s policy team are leaving his office by the end of May, robbing the House’s top Republican of a critical core of experienced aides.
Brittan Specht, Jason Yaworske and Preston Hill — all of whom also worked for former Speaker Kevin McCarthy — are heading to Michael Best Strategies, a lobbying firm with offices in D.C. and around the country.
The departure, which is striking in size and in experience, strips Johnson of a significant amount of expertise in his domestic policy shop. Specht was McCarthy’s policy director and was key in crafting the Fiscal Responsibility Act, which raised the debt limit and set budget levels for two years.
Yaworske is a well-respected adviser to the speaker on the appropriations and budget matters. As the House Appropriations Committee begins marking up the FY2025 spending bills, Yaworske’s expertise on government spending is in demand.
And Hill, a longtime figure in GOP leadership, was in charge of overseeing House Republican policy in burgeoning policy areas such as cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence as well as Education and the Workforce and Financial Services.
Another common thread here is that all three have been at the table during high-stakes negotiations — something that is a rarity at the top levels of the Republican leadership.
They’ve gone downtown to K Street to join with the likes of Reince Priebus and Cory Gardner, although Reince is going to be busy working on Donald Trump’s coronation for the next month and a half. And again, I call your attention to the timing of this. The timing is the story here. These people are clearly getting another job while they can because they don’t believe they’re going to keep the jobs they’ve got.
The big picture: Johnson had a nine-person policy shop anchored by Dan Ziegler, the speaker’s policy director. Losing three senior advisers with significant experience isn’t great for the Louisiana Republican. It’s true that Congress is a transient institution, where ambitious aides slip between K Street and government with regularity. But having the speaker lose three policy aides with this kind of experience is a blow.
Team Johnson says they will be hiring new policy staff soon. But we’ll see who is willing to commit with the election only 167 days away.
I don’t think you need psychic powers to deduce that the three aides spoke amongst themselves and decided that their fortunes were better served by gettin while the gettin’s good. After this November election it is highly likely that many aides — not to mention defeated reps and senators — are going to be out of work and headed into lobbying. If you see a bloodbath coming, and I’m going to go out on a limb and say that’s what I believe happened to these people, then of course if you have any brains you make your move at the most propitious time.
These aides are leaving at the top of their game and so they’ve got some clout and some maneuverability. That may not be the case in five months. In November, there may be a lot of Republicans and aides on a lame duck basis and finding a job is going to be many times more difficult than finding one now.
These are insiders making this move, folks. These are people at the top of the GOP totem pole. And they are running for the hills. In May. Before the GOP convention, even. Take careful note.
I don’t know enough about “inside the Beltway” to figure what other intrigues might be at play, but I would bet something devious could be going on. Congressional staffers don’t have the same restrictions against lobbying activities as the Congress critters themselves, but when you are as senior as these three, the rules come close. And, all 3 are going to Priebus’ operation?! Yah, they appear to be running FROM disaster, but given that DC reeks of corruption, they might also be running TO something they are restricted from doing within a year of resigning. Am I a paranoid conspiracy theorist? You betcha! Am I right? I betcha! 🤨