Schiappa Out, Dove In as Senate GOP’s Key Floor Staffer
The Senate GOP’s personal parliamentarian and floor manager will leave the chamber for the private sector at the end of this week, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced Tuesday.
Secretary for the Minority David Schiappa, who has been a longtime member of The Roll Call Fabulous 50 list of the most influential staffers on Capitol Hill, has spent 29 years in the Senate — in both the majority and minority — and 13 years as the party’s secretary in charge of “scheduling legislation on the floor, informing senators of all pending business and keeping them updated on bills, motions, nominations and amendments in preparation for roll call votes,” according to the McConnell statement.
Schiappa also serves as the go-between with the secretary for the majority – a post currently held by Gary Myrick – and offers parliamentary advice to help Republicans achieve their goals on the floor. McConnell announced that another longtime member of the GOP’s floor staff would take over for Schiappa. Laura Dove, the daughter of former Senate Parliamentarian Bob Dove, will assume the secretary position when Schiappa leaves.
McConnell said of Schiappa: “Dave has played a key role in every legislative accomplishment in the Senate during his tenure as Secretary. His wisdom and legislative expertise have been invaluable not only to the last three Senate Republican Leaders, but to every member of the Senate on both sides of the aisle. Our conference, and indeed all 100 members, have benefited immensely from Dave’s sage advice and counsel and he’s going to be missed by Senate members and staff alike.”
Schiappa started in the cloakroom under former Majority Leader Bob Dole, R-Kan., in 1984. Over the course of his career, Schiappa worked his way up from floor assistant to secretary.
Dove has also held multiple cloakroom positions, but first came to the Senate as a page. She also has worked for the Republican National Convention and for the National Republican Senatorial Committee.