Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) has hired reporter Jonathan Allen to run her growing leadership political action committee.
“The Congresswoman as of Jan. 1 will be bringing Jonathan Allen on as the executive director of her DWS PAC — Democrats Win Seats,” her spokesman Jonathan Beeton said. “Given how much she’s been doing of late, it was important to bring on somebody with a lot of political expertise and experience who really knows Members well and has a knowledge of the history of the institution.”
Allen worked most recently at Politico after stints at Congressional Quarterly, which is now part of the CQ-Roll Call Group; the Hill newspaper; and the office of former Sen. Paul Sarbanes (D-Md.). Wasserman Schultz wears many hats in the Democratic Caucus. She is the vice chairwoman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in charge of incumbent retention, is a chief deputy whip and chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Legislative Branch. She also made headlines when she revealed earlier this year that she had undergone treatment for breast cancer. She is widely expected to be in the running to either chair the DCCC or vie for another leadership post, and leadership PACs are a powerful tool for directly aiding fellow Members of Congress.
Wasserman Schultz’s PAC raised and spent more than $500,000 in the last election cycle but has not previously had an executive director.
“The Congresswoman has a growing political operation, and she raises a lot of money to give to other candidates,” Allen said. “Over time, that gets bigger and bigger and she wanted somebody to work on that operation full time.”
Wasserman Schultz sought him out, Allen said.
“I wouldn’t go work for just anyone,” Allen said. “She wanted me to come work for her, and it was impossible for me to say no. She has a heart of gold and resolve of steel. ... I find that inspiring.”
While at Congressional Quarterly, Allen won the Everett McKinley Dirksen Award for Congressional reporting from the National Press Foundation and the National Press Club’s Sandy Hume Memorial Award for political journalism for a package of stories titled “Manifest Disparity” that detailed how power and politics rule in the world of earmarking.
Allen’s wife, Stephanie, is the communications director for Sen. Kay Hagan (D-N.C.).
Lois Lerner, director of exempt organizations for the IRS, arrives for a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on the investigation of the IRS' targeting of political groups. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right to not testify and caused a protest from some committee members when she offered an opening statement and engaged in dialogue with members before invoking the right.
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