When nearly 80 new members of Congress took their oaths in January, a swarm of new congressional staffers were ready to begin their Hill careers.
So far, for every new member, nearly one permanent new hire has already left the office. LegiStorm's data shows that 70 staffers - excluding interns and transition aides - have already parted ways with their newly elected bosses. These figures illustrate the transient nature of Capitol Hill, where a congressional job is sometimes a career stepping stone, not the destination.
While the current job status of most of these staff is unknown, at least 15 staff have gone to the private sector, including some with lobbying jobs. Half a dozen former staff have switched over to campaigning and a dozen staff have moved to another government job, most of them on the Hill in another congressional job.
Jon Kohan spent only six months as deputy chief of staff for Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa). The former campaign manager for Ernst has left for another Senate race, Sen. Kelly Ayotte's (R-N.H.).
Diane Luensmann is an example of staffers who have returned to the private sector. The Worcester, Mass. native used her experience as Rep. Stacey Plaskett's (D-U.S. Virgin Islands) deputy chief of staff and former Rep. Nick Rahall's (D-W.Va.) communications director to land a position with the American Maritime Congress. Prior to joining the West Virginian's staff, she worked at the Democratic Governors Association.
Others used their time with freshmen members to gain promotions with more senior members. Mimi Rothfus, daughter of Rep. Keith Rothfus (R-Pa.) departed Sen. Steve Daines' (R-Mont.) staff as deputy scheduler to take the head scheduling position with Rep. John Fleming (R-La.).
While the decision to leave was voluntary for most, for others it was forced. Ryan James, former chief of staff for Rep. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) resigned from his post after only three months on the job. He parted ways with the congressman after having a warrant out for his arrest over an unpaid $10 parking ticket.
In some case, departures occurred due to office turmoil.
Roll Call reported that there was a staff exodus in March from the office of Rep. Brad Ashford (D-Neb.), including his chief of staff Tiffany Muller and his communications directors Richard Carbo and Beth Schoenbach, due to fundraising concerns over his expected tough re-election campaign next year.
The departures included 19 Senate Republican staff versus zero Senate Democratic staff, with the only new Democratic member of the Senate holding on to his staff. In the House, 32 Republican staffers left compared to 19 Democratic aides. Daines led the 114th Senate freshman class with four departures while Ashford led his House colleagues with four as well.
