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Ethics Committee Gets New Staff Director

Conaway had plenty of praise for Rust. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)
Conaway had plenty of praise for Rust. (Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call File Photo)

The Ethics Committee announced a major staffing decision Thursday, with a longtime committee staffer becoming the staff director and chief counsel.  

Tom Rust, who has served in a number of roles on the Ethics panel since 2009 — including as a nonpartisan staff attorney, a member of several units on the committee, and as interim staff director and chief counsel — fills the shoes of former staff director and chief counsel Dan Schwager, who left last November. On Thursday, Ethics Chairman K. Michael Conaway, R-Texas, was praising Rust’s experience with the Committee’s advice and education team, as well as the investigation team. “I couldn’t be more pleased with Tom’s leadership and work ethic thus far and he will continue to ensure that the Committee serves the House community with integrity and fairness,” Conaway said.  

The ranking Democrat on the Committee, Linda Sanchez of California, said she had been impressed with Rust’s work since she joined the committee, “His counsel and judgment have earned him the trust and respect of the Members of the Committee and his co-workers alike, and he is a highly valued member of our team.”  

Rust, for his part, said he was “humbled” by the trust the committee had placed in him, and that it was a “true honor” to work for Conaway and Sanchez. “Under their leadership, the Committee has approached every issue that has come before them in a serious, thoughtful, and nonpartisan manner, and I look forward to continuing the critical of the Committee in improving the public’s trust in their elected officials,” Rust said.  

Rust is a graduate of the University of Virginia College of Arts and Sciences and the University of Virginia School of Law.

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