GOP Freshman Flipped Her Staff

Rep. Beth Van Duyne (R-TX) “has lost her chief of staff, communications director and legislative director already. And she’s only been in Congress for 57 days,” Punchbowl News reports.

“Van Duyne fired chief of staff Brendan Belair and legislative director Erica Barker. Van Duyne’s spokeswoman Amanda Gonzalez Thompson also quit last week.”

“Turnover isn’t uncommon on Capitol Hill, especially for a new lawmaker, but this level of churn this early in a congressional career is quite notable, and it’s very strange.”

But this is even stranger: “On Feb. 10, Christian Dillard, the former spokesperson for Van Dyune’s campaign and a longtime acquaintance of the congresswoman, shot and killed himself outside Van Duyne’s home. Van Duyne was home at the time of the incident.”