NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) _ Freshman Republican U.S. Sen. Bill Hagerty has picked more than a dozen former members of the Trump administration to join his Washington office, including a chief of staff who also worked for former Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam and former Sen. Bob Corker.
Hagerty announced 23 additions to his Senate team Thursday, with John Rader leading the office as chief of staff.
Rader most recently served as deputy assistant to the president for strategic initiatives. He also served on the National Security Council under former President Donald Trump and worked alongside Hagerty on Trump’s 2016 transition team.
Rader was counsel for the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations when Corker was chairman. He also was a governor’s office attorney under Haslam.
Former deputy assistant to the president and deputy press secretary Judd Deere will be Hagerty’s deputy chief of staff for communications and spokesperson.
Julia Hahn, who will be Hagerty’s senior communications advisor, most recently was Trump’s deputy assistant to the president and deputy White House communications director.
Adam Telle will be Hagerty’s chief advisor after leading the White House’s legislative affairs office on the Senate side.
Jonathan Greenstein, Hagerty’s new senior policy advisor, was a deputy assistant secretary at the Treasury Department.
Hagerty’s national security advisor will be Robert Zarate, who most recently was on the Department of State’s policy planning staff.
Retired Col. Joel Rayburn will be Hagerty’s special advisor for Middle East affairs after spending time as U.S. Special Envoy for Syria in the Department of State.
Other Hagerty additions from the Trump administration include: former Office of Management and Budget legislative affairs deputy Natalie McIntyre as Hagerty’s deputy legislative director; former Senior Advisor to Special Presidential Envoy for Arms Control Kevin Kim as Hagerty’s national security fellow; former Associate Director for the White House Office of the Staff Secretary Shane Harris as Hagerty’s special projects coordinator; former White House legislative affairs staffer Rachel Leong as legislative correspondent for Hagerty; former White House intern Addison Osborne as Hagerty’s assistant scheduler; and one-time director of digital response in the White House correspondence office Lucas Da Pieve as Hagerty’s projects director.
Hagerty also picked Clark Milner for his chief counsel. Milner was deputy counsel to Republican Gov. Bill Lee.
