WASHINGTON – Sen. Marco Rubio fired his chief of staff this weekend over credible allegations of “improper conduct” with subordinates.
“This evening, I traveled from Florida to Washington DC and terminated his employment effective immediately,” Rubio said in a statement late Saturday.
The Florida Republican said he was made aware of the allegations against chief of staff Clint Reed “for the first time” Friday afternoon.
He launched an investigation along with his general counsel and found “sufficient evidence” that Reed “violated office policies regarding proper relations between a supervisor and their subordinates.”
A source with knowledge of Reed’s firing told The Post that the allegations were from female staff accusing him of sexual harassment and retaliatory behavior. Staff who rejected Reed’s sexual advances felt their jobs were in jeopardy, the source said.
Reed had been the senator’s chief of staff for the last year and previously served as Rubio’s campaign manager for his Senate re-election bid in 2016. He also ran Rubio’s presidential campaign operations in Iowa, where Rubio came in third place behind Sen. Ted Cruz and Donald Trump in the high-stakes Iowa caucuses two years ago.
The Arkansas native was formerly executive director of the Arkansas GOP before joining the Republican National Committee in 2007 as political director, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Rubio didn’t name Reed in his statement but said his chief of staff’s improper relations with subordinates led to “threats to withhold employment benefits.”
“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,” Rubio said of his staffers.
Reed vacated his office immediately.
Jessica Fernandez, a deputy chief of staff, has been named by Rubio as acting chief of staff.
Rubio’s office declined to comment on the details of the misconduct, citing the “direct request of those victimized by these events.”
But Rubio said he’ll report the conduct to congressional authorities, who have been inundated with incoming requests and investigations regarding sexual misconduct as Capitol Hill is having its own #metoo reckoning.