Republican Senator Marco Rubio fired his Chief of Staff Clint Reed this weekend following allegations of “improper conduct.”
The former presidential candidate released a statement on Saturday, stating that Reed “had violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates,” actions which led to Reed effectively threatening “to withhold employment benefits.”
“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. 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,” said Rubio in the statement.
“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,” he continued. “I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgement amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits.”
While Rubio did not name Reed specifically, it was confirmed by CNN that he was in the position at the time of his hiring.
Below is Rubio’s full statement:
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. 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.
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. I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgement amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits.
This evening, I traveled from Florida to Washington D.C. and terminated his employment effective immediately.
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. 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.