Chris Van Hollen’s wife demoralizing his office (dear white staffer)

[Anonymous]

Has anyone else been following the dear white staffer instagram account/story (either before or because of the recent news stories?)

It’s a forum for Hill staff to anonymously share concerns about their working environment. I was surprised/interested/disappointed that multiple people chimed in the Chris van Hollen is nice enough to work for but he gives his wife a desk in the office and she makes staff miserable.

Of course it’s all anonymous but it was consistent and specific enough (and covered both his Senate office and the DSCC) that it seemed like there was some truth to it and that surprised and disappointed me.

[Anonymous]

Gosh I would hate to be a victim of anonymous gossip on Twitter. It’s so arbitrary and you have no idea if it’s true but everyone reads it and treats it like it’s the truth.

[Anonymous]

Seriously, did you just come on an anonymous site to slander a person by name based on sources from another anonymous site? Maybe she is a jerk. We don’t know because we have no actually experience with her behavior. You, on the other hand, are definitely a terrible person and we know that by the fact that you posted this here.

[Anonymous]

If this is true, I hope he figures out which staffer is slandering his wife online and fires him or her. Very bad judgment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If this is true, I hope he figures out which staffer is slandering his wife online and fires him or her. Very bad judgment.

I hope he also asks himself if the complainers have a legit point.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is true, I hope he figures out which staffer is slandering his wife online and fires him or her. Very bad judgment.

I hope he also asks himself if the complainers have a legit point.

And then fires the wife and the staffer. The staffer for talking out of school and the wife for effing up the morale on his staff.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is true, I hope he figures out which staffer is slandering his wife online and fires him or her. Very bad judgment.

I hope he also asks himself if the complainers have a legit point.

The complainer should bring it up with the chief of staff or Chris himself. They shouldn’t be posting on social media. That shows incredibly poor judgment. What else what they leaked to the press? One of the number one traits of a good hill staffer is discretion and judgment. If someone is posting negative things about their member on social media, they need to go get another job.

[Anonymous]

I think one of the people wasn’t his staff but was asked to interview with his wife when applying for a job.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like she took her playbook from Hillary Clinton.

[Anonymous]

I think an story with multiple sources that Van Hollen’s office is mismanaged would be/is a legit topic for discussion.

Ordinarily I would be against naming a specific person as responsible for the mismanagement but in this case the story is the person responsible isn’t an employee but actually his spouse, so I think that’s relevant too.

Just saying I hope he fires whoever is responsible for the story seems terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If this is true, I hope he figures out which staffer is slandering his wife online and fires him or her. Very bad judgment.

I hope he also asks himself if the complainers have a legit point.

The complainer should bring it up with the chief of staff or Chris himself. They shouldn’t be posting on social media. That shows incredibly poor judgment. What else what they leaked to the press? One of the number one traits of a good hill staffer is discretion and judgment. If someone is posting negative things about their member on social media, they need to go get another job.

Have you worked in a congressional office before? Especially in the Senate, you do NOT bring up office politics with the Senator. Maybe the CoS but it depends on who they are. I know a number of them who would roll their eyes at a complaint like this and tell you to suck it up.

As a former Hill staffer, I am cheering these people on. These office are rampant with abuse and misconduct. It's really hard to make anyone accountable and people are generally afraid to say anything because it's such a clubby place and unless you are ready to leave politics altogether, it's hard to speak up. Even if you are leaving, the contacts are valuable and you might not want to give them up. But accountability and sunshine are desperately needed.

[Anonymous]

And especially if it’s his WIFE! Who is going to tell the Senator his wife is causing problems? Even the CoS probably feels it’s better to let the staff be miserable than make waves.

[Anonymous]

The office I used to work for has been called out on that account and it's all true. I laughed out loud when I read it because it's like "yes, this has been going on for two decades, all of it!" Good for these kids, finding a way to speak out. And as a lifelong Dem who worked in Dem politics for years, I am GLAD that it's mostly Dem offices getting called out. Because it is a joke how abusiive a lot f these offices are while they hold themselves out as a friend to working people. A lot of them have an explicit attitude of "well staffers don't count because you're just ambitious snots like I was." Senior people on the Hill tend to be extremely jaded and there is an attitude that you have to abuse young staff because that's what you went through. It's messed up.

Anyway, shine on crazy Hill diamonds. Air all the family secrets! I hope it changes something. But wow am I glad I don't have anything to do with that world anymore.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous trashing on social media is cowardly and weak. Not something to be lauded.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:The office I used to work for has been called out on that account and it's all true. I laughed out loud when I read it because it's like "yes, this has been going on for two decades, all of it!" Good for these kids, finding a way to speak out. And as a lifelong Dem who worked in Dem politics for years, I am GLAD that it's mostly Dem offices getting called out. Because it is a joke how abusiive a lot f these offices are while they hold themselves out as a friend to working people. A lot of them have an explicit attitude of "well staffers don't count because you're just ambitious snots like I was." Senior people on the Hill tend to be extremely jaded and there is an attitude that you have to abuse young staff because that's what you went through. It's messed up.

Anyway, shine on crazy Hill diamonds. Air all the family secrets! I hope it changes something. But wow am I glad I don't have anything to do with that world anymore.

The whole political ecosystem of DC is built on a pyramid of abusive behavior. The bottom of that pyramid are the unpaid interns. You will find similar abusive cultures in other industries, such as publishing, that heavily utilize unpaid internships. Ending unpaid internships would probably put a significant dent into improving these workplaces.