Florida senator says investigation found Clint Reed engaged in behavior that ‘in my judgment amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits’

This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

The Florida senator Marco Rubio has fired his chief of staff over reports of “improper conduct” with subordinate staffers.



“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 on Saturday.

Trump hits back after Jay-Z calls president 'superbug' in racism debate Read more

“I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgment amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits.”

Rubio’s office said it would “not be disclosing any further details about the incidents which occurred”, at the wishes of those victimized. It did not immediately respond to requests early on Sunday for details.

The announcement made no mention of the chief of staff’s name. However, a press release on Rubio’s website dated December 2016 identified Clint Reed as Rubio’s newly appointed chief of staff.

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

Reed, who describes himself on social media as Rubio’s chief of staff, did not return a call or a Facebook message for comment.

Reed managed Rubio’s 2016 re-election campaign to the US Senate as well as presidential primary campaigns in Florida and elsewhere.

Reed also served as regional political director for the RNC and executive director of the Republican party of Arkansas.

A native of Arkansas, Reed has been a partner at Little Rock-based Impact Management Group, a public affairs firm that counts the Republican Governors Association among its clients.