Rubio fires chief of staff after allegations of ‘improper conduct’

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) has fired his chief of staff after looking into allegations of “improper conduct,” he announced late Saturday.

Rubio said in a written statement that he had “sufficient evidence to conclude” that his chief of staff, Clint Reed, “had violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates.” He further concluded that this led to actions that “amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits.”

The Florida senator said he had “taken steps to ensure that those impacted by this conduct have access to any services they may require now or in the future” and will be notifying appropriate congressional administrative offices on Monday. He said he would not provide any further details on the “incidents,” in accordance with “the wishes of those victimized by this conduct.”

Reed could not immediately be reached for comment early Sunday. A former presidential campaign aide to Rubio, then later his Senate campaign manager, Reed was tapped to be chief of staff in December of 2016, a little more than a month after Rubio was elected to a second Senate term.

Rubio said he first learned of the accusations against Reed on Friday afternoon, after they were directly reported to him. By Saturday afternoon, Rubio said, he had gathered evidence that led him to conclude Reed had violated office policies during his employment.

On Saturday evening, Rubio said, he traveled from Florida back to Washington and “terminated his employment effective immediately.”