Tuesday, December 28, 2010

New Arizona Rep. Quayle Hires Chief of Staff Who Outed Previous Rep.'s Adultery; Indiana Tie-In

Ben Quayle (R-CD3), one of Arizona's three new Reprsentatives in Congress, has picked Renee Hudson to be his chief of staff.  Ms. Hudson had been a longtime chief of staff to Rep. Mark Souder (R-Indiana);  she confronted him and informed GOP leadership about his adulterous affair, which prompted his resignation earlier this year.

The Roll Call story also indicates that Quayle's new press secretary - Richard Cullen - previously worked for Rep. Eric Cantor's Minority Whip office. 

The basic Indiana connection in the story is obvious, in that Quayle's father represented the state in the Senate (before his term as Vice President).  Less obvious: Souder indicates that Dan Quayle had actually warned him years ago that he should move his entire family from Indiana to Washington; that might have helped prevent the scandal which drove him from office.

Two other brief related tidbits: (1) Ms. Hudson's husband is the chief of staff for another Republican Congressman, Mike Conaway (R-Texas) (How many two-chief-of-staff-couples exist on the Hill?); (2) Most chiefs of staff for disgraced/resigned Representatives do not usually get hired in a similar position elsewhere.


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