On Nov. 18, 2014, the clock started ticking for Rep. Jason Chaffetz.
The Utah Republican had just been named head of the powerful House Oversight and Government Reform Committee following two years of dogged government oversight from Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who was forced to step down because of the GOP’s self-imposed term limits on committee chairmen.
But Chaffetz had his own vision for the committee, and he and his chief of staff, Fred Ferguson, quickly identified their first goal: evaluating the 65 staff members working at the committee under Issa and deciding who would best help Chaffetz achieve that vision.
With the holidays fast approaching and lawmakers preparing to head home to their districts, Ferguson had just a month-and-a-half to figure it all out, and he wanted to give Issa’s staff enough time to find new jobs if they were let go.
Ferguson and Chaffetz, along with their senior leadership team, quickly got to work.
“You have to get fresh ideas,” Ferguson said. “Fresh people.”
The start of the new 114th Congress brought change in many forms to Capitol Hill: 71 new lawmakers were elected—13 senators and 58 representatives. With Republicans taking over the Senate, the 16 standing committees previously headed by Democrats turned over to Republicans who began to put new staff in place. In the House, seven committees welcomed new chairs.
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As Capitol Hill employees settled into new offices in the last remaining hours before the start of the new session, office furniture littered the passageways between Capitol Hill office buildings, and the smell of fresh paint wafted through the hallways. It wouldn’t be long before memorabilia and decorations from members’ home districts dotted the walls of lawmakers’ new offices.
And for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, more than two dozen new staff members settled into their roles under Chaffetz.
“Jason has his own ideas, own style, own approach, and just like any office, a chairman can only do so much,” Ferguson told The Daily Signal. “He has to have a staff that understands his vision, goals, approach and attitude, and the way he goes about business.”
Applicants hoping to work for the committee ran the gamut, Ferguson said, and the quality of those looking for jobs on the powerful committee proved to be the most surprising aspect for those overseeing Chaffetz’s transition to Oversight chair.
“We had people making over $500,000 a year who were coming to us saying, ‘I want to serve. I want to help. What can I do?’” Ferguson said.
Of the 65 staff members who worked for Issa, approximately 40 percent kept their jobs after re-applying and interviewing with either Chaffetz or members of his senior leadership team. Ferguson served as the facilitator, making sure the “trains ran on time,” and Chaffetz took a hands-on approach to the hiring process, participating in interviews and making offers.
Under Chaffetz’s leadership, the work done by the Oversight Committee will be triangulated between authorizing and appropriations committees in the House and the Senate that handle legislation and funding, respectively.
“Instead of just doing oversight for oversight, we want to do oversight to leverage change and enact meaningful reforms” said @JasonIntheHouse chief of staff Fred Ferguson.
“Instead of just doing oversight for oversight, we want to do oversight to leverage change and enact meaningful reforms,” Ferguson said. “And by-and-large, we can’t do that by ourselves. We can do oversight and we can shine a light on a problem, but we have to have the authorizing committees and the appropriations committees on our side and be working together as a team.” He continued:
“We want to do oversight, but we have got to have government reform as well. If you don’t have an endgame in mind as you do this oversight, you’re just spinning your wheels.”
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The Oversight Committee begins the session with a full team in place. However, other offices continue to make tweaks to staffs and hire new employees—even as the 114th Congress kicks into full gear.
“In some ways, it comes in a supply-and-demand dynamic,” a veteran GOP staffer in the process of helping to start multiple offices told The Daily Signal. “In 2008, when Republicans suffered defeat—losing Congress and the administration [White House]—it was one of the richest periods to recruit talent because so many wanted opportunities to stay on Capitol Hill.” The staffer continued:
“This period, as a GOP staff member, it was a favorable market in terms of the GOP being on an upswing.”
For those moving from the House to the Senate, where Republicans now have a majority for the first time in eight years, the differences can be stark. In the House, the veteran staffer said, members may represent districts that are solidly Republican or Democrat. In the Senate, the constituencies are much more diverse.
However, House staffers moving to work in the upper chamber have an edge, as they have experience working in the majority. Becoming the majority party, though, isn’t without challenges.
“It’s the challenge of governing and increased responsibilities,” the veteran GOP staffer said. “You don’t know what the mindset of the president is with different bills to help Americans. People can guess, people can speculate, there can be smoke signals. You don’t know the outcome until the bill is put on the president’s desk.”
Still, for those starting new offices and overseeing transitions, the path to get there remains the same.
“This is how people from all different walks of life come to Washington and make a transition,” the staffer said. “There’s young people who aren’t far out of college and fought for opportunities to work in government. They’re excited and thrilled to look above them and see the Capitol Dome.”
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