A lobbying stint later, an old aide to Rep. Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) is back with the congressman, this time as chief of staff.
Ernie Jolly comes from the Mortgage Bankers Association, where he was associate vice president and a registered federal lobbyist. Before leaving for the real-estate finance group in 2019, he was Meeks' deputy chief.
The Department of the Interior churns out good congressional staffers — at least, that's what Rep. David Valadao (R-Calif.) is betting on.
So far, two of his hires come from the department. Amanda Hall is now Valadao's legislative director and was an Interior senior adviser. Faith Vander Voort is the congressman's communications director and was deputy director of DOI's Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs.
