New chief of staff for Reid
WASHINGTON — Sen. Harry Reid on Thursday announced a new chief of staff as he seeks to complete his final term in Congress.
Drew Willison, a former Reid senior adviser and Senate sergeant at arms, is returning to lead the staff of the Nevada Democrat. He succeeds David Krone, who as chief of staff for the past five years became one of the most powerful aides on Capitol Hill.
The turnover had been expected and was first reported in January as being in the works. At the time it was viewed in the context of an impending Reid bid for Senate re-election. But Reid, 75, announced on March 27 he would retire when his term expires at the end of next year.
“Drew knows Nevada and knows the Senate and I will rely on his extensive experience and strategic vision in the months to come,” Reid said in a statement released by his office.
Willison, an Ohio native, joined Reid’s staff in 1997 as a legislative aide on environment and public works.
He later was promoted to staff director of the Senate’s energy and water appropriations subcommittee where he helped Reid steer millions of dollars in earmarks to Nevada. At the same time he and Reid regularly cut off funds for the Yucca Mountain nuclear waste project.
Krone, a Pennsylvania native, was Reid’s top adviser during most of the Nevadan’s crucial years as Senate majority leader. Fiercely protective, he shared a reputation with Reid as being a bantam battler.
Most famously, following Democratic election losses in November, Krone publicly laid blame on the White House, telling the Washington Post he did not think that President Barack Obama’s political team “was up to speed and up to par doing what needed to get done.”
“David is like family,” Reid said Thursday. “He inspired tremendous loyalty in our staff who felt, as I do, that whatever challenges arose, David always had your back.”
At the time reports began circulating of Krone’s impending departure, Reid associates sought to emphasize he was not being pushed out. Krone and his wife, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff Alyssa Mastromonaco, bought a home in New York City in the fall when she accepted a job as chief operating officer of Vice Media.
Krone on Thursday did not say what comes next. In a farewell email he said working with Reid colleagues “had such a positive impact on my life.”
When Reid became Senate majority leader in 2007, he appointed Willison to become deputy sergeant at arms, effectively a chief operating officer of the Senate. From 2010 to 2013 Willison was a vice president at the Battelle Memorial Institute, a science and tech think tank.
Willison returned to the Senate as sergeant at arms in 2013, serving until Republicans gained control in November and named Frank Larkin to replace him.
Contact Review-Journal Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@reviewjournal.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.
