Rep. Dusty Johnson Announces Additional D.C. Staff Members
Washington, D.C. – Today U.S. Representative Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) announced the remainder of his Washington, D.C. office staff.
“I wanted to hit the ground running on January 3rd, and I found the team who helped me do just that,” said Johnson. “These individuals possess the tools necessary to run a successful office that will truly benefit the people of South Dakota.”
John Weber will serve as a Senior Policy Advisor and will focus on agricultural policy. Most recently, he worked for Chairman Conaway’s House Agriculture Committee staff during the 2018 Farm Bill, and prior to that he worked for Rep. Kristi Noem. Weber is a graduate of South Dakota State University with a degree in Animal Science.
Carly Reedholm will join Representative Johnson’s office as the Scheduler and D.C. Operations Manager. She previously worked in the Texas State House of Representatives, and most recently served on the House Agriculture Committee as the Deputy Committee Clerk for more than three years. Reedholm grew up in Georgetown, Texas, and attended college at Texas Tech University, where she received a degree in Political Science.
Jazmine Kemp joins Rep. Johnson’s office as Press Secretary. Most recently, Kemp served in former Senator Dean Heller’s press shop. Prior to moving to D.C., she acted as the Communications Director for the Seattle GOP. Kemp grew up in Las Vegas, Nev., and attended Azusa Pacific University, where she received a degree in Political Science and Legal Studies.
Hannah Kagey joins the office as a Legislative Assistant and will focus on tribal policy. She previously held a policy position with the South Dakota Department of Tribal Relations. Kagey is a graduate of Sioux Falls Christian High School and Augustana University, where she received her degree in Government and International Affairs.
Peter Dudziak joins the D.C. office as a Legislative Correspondent, and previously worked in former Rep. Paulsen’s (R-Minn.) office. Dudziak is a graduate of Saint John’s University in Minnesota, with a degree in Economics and Political Science.
Matthew Krall will serve in the D.C. office as the Special Assistant. Krall worked side by side with Rep. Johnson during the campaign, acting as his Executive Assistant. He previously interned for Senator Rounds in D.C. A South Dakota native, Krall recently graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University.
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So half of the new hires have no connection to South Dakota at all?
But why couldn’t he have found a college graduate from South Dakota for the other three positions?
Glad to see at least 2/3 South Dakotans with Hill experience.
Krall was Dusty’s driver on the campaign… let’s not oversell things here. But a great opportunity to learn!
All of his hires have been extremely… interesting.
Does his entire staff really need to be from South Dakota? I think it is advantageous for him to find the best people. If they’re from SD, great. If not, I don’t find it a big deal. All seem pretty qualified.
Most of these people are NOT South Dakotans and don’t live in South Dakota. That is disappointing.
Well, I’d hope that most of his DC staffers wouldn’t live in SD. That would be a LONG morning commute.
Krall…that dude is a machine.
Read between the lines . . . these are good hires. For example, hiring two respected people off the Ag committee is a smart move for someone trying to get on the Ag committee. Hiring two people who previously worked for members close to leadership is a good move, too.
Everything with leadership is done through the chief of staff and the member. Don’t kid yourself or mislead anyone here.
If we’re going to read between the lines- I didn’t vote for another term of Kristi Noem in the House. Most of the hires have a Kristi connection and it doesn’t set Dusty apart from her.
She wasn’t all that great or produced baleful results while in Congress.
Dusty isn’t the only member of the Delegation with a South Dakota issue- Thune’s staff and Rounds staff are getting away from hiring South Dakotans.
You hire people from your own state because they know the issues in your state better than people from other states like California, Nevada, Minnesota, etc.
You can’t reasonably fill an entire staff with South Dakotans, particularly not in DC. Plus, with the GOP having all 3 seats the last few years, there is a higher demand for South Dakotans on the Hill.
You are right that the direction comes from the Member. The folks with Noem connections got good experience with how the process works, regardless of whether you liked the results Noem got. Now that have a new boss who will set the direction.
You can reasonably fill 90-95% of a minority party’s member staff with people from their home district in DC. It was done by Noem, Janklow, Thune, and Herseth-Sandlin in the House. All public information.
Also, notice how there has been 1 Rounds staffer and 0 Thune staffers – that should tell you all you need to know. Good staffers will make the jump if it’s a serious office. and Thune staffers are considered the gold standard when it comes to the delegation.
Anon 6:07, Dusty’s Northeast Director was a Thune staffer. Also, the Senate pays 30% more than the House (varies widely by position, though), so it’s rare to see someone move from the Senate.
Dusty has put together a team that has experience in at least 6 different congressional offices. In addition, 13 of 16 have lived or currently live in South Dakota.
A constituent services rep. (State staffer) how long ago?
Two weeks ago
Not for Thune, not unless she left and came back-
Yes. She was a caseworker for Thune last month (and had been for years). She did not leave and come back.
She’s Ron Cornilius’ daughter right?
Want something done, put a staffer on it. Want it done right, put Krall on it. Nice hire.
It takes a good mix of people with Capitol Hill experience and people with direct knowledge of South Dakota. In small offices, there is a lot of cross-pollination of expertises, experiences, and exposures.
While I worked in a US Senate Office, this is even more true with Congressional offices. Before I was ready to be a Legislative Assistant, I spent over a year as a Staff Assistant (essentially assistant LA). Congressional staff needs not only Hill experienced mentors but a very accelerated orientation process.
A Staff Assistant, the persona t the front desk answering phone calls and organizing tours, is now below a Legislative Aide/Legislative Correspondant (Junior Legislative Assistant) on the office hierarchy scale.
Above that, you find a Legislative Assistant. An Executive Assistant is a mix of the driver/staff assistant/jr. LC.