Mike Lee Initiates Blockade on Senate Leadership Staff Growth
Mike Lee is intensifying his conflict with Senate leadership by proposing an amendment to the spending bill that would dismantle the pay structure for certain top staffers under Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.
The Utah Republican’s amendment targets a practice where some top staffers for Schumer and McConnell are paid as “consultants.” Lee’s proposal aims to block the use of this practice, referring to Schumer and McConnell collectively as “The Firm.” Lee has been vocal in his criticism of their collaboration on the Senate’s foreign aid bill and annual spending bills, urging Republicans to oppose the spending bill that recently reached the Senate floor.
Lee specifically opposes a provision in the spending bill that expands the use of consultants on leadership staff. This provision aims to align the current practice of paying a portion of leadership staff as consultants with the law. The Senate has utilized this designation for staff payments for over 20 years, with the total pay amounting to over $4 million last year, as reported by Legistorm.
While Lee’s amendment is unlikely to pass, its submission underscores the growing dissatisfaction among some Republicans towards Senate leadership. Lee has been a prominent critic of McConnell’s leadership, even voting against him in the 2022 leadership elections. McConnell is set to step down as the Senate’s top Republican later this year, but the next GOP leader could potentially benefit from the expansion of Senate consultants proposed in the spending bill.
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