Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., announced Tuesday Mike Needham, the co-founder and CEO of Heritage Action for America, had been named his next chief of staff.
“Mike brings a wealth of policy, political, and management experience that will greatly complement our office’s mission of serving the people of Florida and leading the effort to modernize the conservative movement in the 21st century,” Rubio said in a statement Tuesday. “Mike understands and shares these goals, and I look forward to his contributions.”
Heritage Action is the sister organization of the conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation, and was founded in 2010 to advocate for conservative policies.
“Congress has long been the home of extraordinary staffers, so it’s no surprise one of the Senate’s champions of conservatism, Marco Rubio, would turn to our very own Mike Needham for his next Chief of Staff!” Kay Coles James, president of The Heritage Foundation, said in a statement Tuesday. “We are excited for Mike and hope his new journey brings him back frequently to his many friends at Heritage.”
Needham has routinely condemned the GOP establishment. Although Rubio at one point was viewed as an anti-establishment politician, he has become associated with it as his career has progressed.
Rubio revealed in January he had terminated his chief of staff, Clint Reed, due to “allegations of improper misconduct.” Reed had previously overseen Rubio’s Senate re-election campaign before being named his chief of staff in late 2016.
