The revolving door has been spinning actively for Sen. Jon Kyl's (R-Ariz.) chief of staff position, including a move this week when Kyl brought on a top lobbyist for that role.
Kyl has had three chiefs of staff in his Republican Whip's office since the start of 2009, all of whom have been through the revolving door. They are only several of Kyl's 45 revolving door staff connections LegiStorm has identified, 29 of whom worked in his personal office. Kyl, who has announced he will retire at the end of his current term, is one of three Republican senators on the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction, or "super committee." LegiStorm is profiling the revolving door ties for all of the super committee members in a three-week series.
It was reported this week that Kyl had hired Dave Hoppe to be his new chief of staff in the Whip's office. Hoppe last worked on the Hill as chief of staff to Majority Leader Trent Lott, and has spent the last eight years as president of the lobbying firm Quinn Gillespie and Associates. The previous chief of staff, Lisa Wolski, moved to GE. She is a former lobbyist for the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
Wolski took over the chief of staff job in March of 2009, replacing Manny Rossman, who became a senior public policy adviser at the Breaux Lott Leadership Group.
These aren't the only staffers to leave a top spot with Kyl for K Street. Ron Bonjean was the chief of staff for the Senate Republican Conference Committee while Kyl was the committee chair, before he left the position in late 2007 to become the Whip. Bonjean is now partner at Singer Bonjean Strategies.
Laurie Fenton Ambrose was chief of staff in Kyl's personal office from 1997-2001, and is now CEO of the Lung Cancer Alliance, where she has been a registered lobbyist.
