As Hillary Clinton continues to dodge heat for protecting a 2008 campaign advisor accused of sexual harassment, Republican senator Marco Rubio is providing a counter-example of what protecting staff members looks like. According to Uproxx, the Florida senator decided to fire his Chief of Staff Clint Reed for “improper conduct” with subordinates the same day he was informed of the allegations.
NBC affiliate First Coast News shared a statement from Rubio, where the former presidential candidate says he fired Reed within hours of hearing allegations against him on Saturday. The complaints were brought directly to Senator Rubio.
“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 shared in the statement. “I further concluded that this led to actions which in my judgment amounted to threats to withhold employment benefits.”
Rubio flew from Florida to D.C. to fire Reed in person. He stressed in his statement that any of the staffers affected by Reed’s actions will “have access to any services they may require now or in the future.”
He also noted that per the staffers' request, the details of the allegations against Reed will not be released. “Pursuant to the wishes of those victimized by this conduct, we will not be disclosing any further details about the incidents which occurred,” Rubio said. “We will be formally notifying the appropriate Congressional and Senate administrative offices of this matter when they return to work Monday morning.”
