Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) marked his seventh month in office Saturday, a lame-duck speaker hampered by conservative critics, office dysfunction, and a shadow race to replace him before he’s even gone.
Staff turnover happens, and it often happens in waves. You’ll see a lot of turnover at the top of a new year, as team members look for fresh starts; you’ll see it in the spring, for those who decide to put in another six months before tapping out; and you’ll see it at the end of summer, as Capitol Hill’s denizens hedge their bets before the voters judge their work on Election Day.
Still, four senior departures in two days is a terrible look, and that’s just what Johnson underwent last week, when Brittan Specht, Jason Yaworske, and Preston Hill announced they’d be joining a D.C. lobbying firm. Later the same day, reports leaked that his communications director, Raj Shah, formerly of the Trump White House, was leaving as well.
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