LegiStorm

A staffer who worked his way up in Rep. André Carson's (D-Ind.) office has returned to the office that trained him.

Omair Mirza moved from intern to legislative assistant for the representative before flying to the U.S. Department of State in China to work as a public diplomacy assistant. After a little over a year in Shanghai, Mirza is back in his old office as of February, now as a senior policy adviser. 

Mirza previously covered issues including agriculture, animals, public lands and natural resources, immigration and politics for Carson. 

The first lobbyist to explicitly register on coronavirus-related issues is Jack Burkman — a right-wing trickster and conspiracy theorist known for his attempts to frame Robert Mueller and Pete Buttigieg for sexual assault, and who has recently called for the president to ban coronavirus testing.

Burkman, through his J.M. Burkman and Associates firm, is working on behalf of Florida physician and marijuana industry executive Richard Goulding. Burkman and Ralph Palmieri, another lobbyist at the firm, registered effective Feb. 27 for work on unspecified coronavirus "issues" and "treatments."

Goulding also hired Burkman late last year to lobby on federal funding for autism issues and research, per a separate filing.

Burkman, along with fellow right-wing operative Jacob Wohl, have found themselves in the middle of several controversies, including plots to falsely accuse public figures of sexual assault. The pair has also made headlines for peddling a conspiracy theory related to the death of murdered DNC staffer Seth Rich.

He also espouses unconventional views on the coronavirus pandemic. "President Trump should sign an executive order BANNING Corona Virus testing," Burkman tweeted last week. "We cannot let hypochondriacs shut down the global economy."

Rep. Kay Granger (R-Texas) has lost another chief of staff - the fourth to leave her office since June.

Jordon Sims, the latest chief to leave, returned this month to Imperium Global Advisors. He helped to found the government-relations firm in 2017 and worked there until joining Granger in October. Her office has not yet hired a replacement.

Granger began to fly through chiefs in June, when then-chief Spencer Freebairn departed for Raytheon. The congresswoman then hired Steve Moffitt and Catherine Knowles, who lasted about two months and one month, repectively.

Granger currently has the highest staff turnover rate in Congress, according to a LegiStorm analysis.

A senior aide to Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-Texas) has traded in the House for the Bureau of Land Management.

Caralee Conklin is now a legislative-affairs specialist for the Interior Department agency.

She spent the last three years as Gohmert's legislative director. Conklin, who holds a JD from the University of Mississippi, previously worked for Rep. Buddy Carter (R-Ga.).

Democrats led the House in 2019 office spending, according to LegiStorm data.

Eight representatives spent more than 98 percent of the office budgets last year. Of those, six were Democrats. Grace Meng (D-N.Y.) topped the charts, using nearly 98.9 percent of her personal office's official budget. Of all of Meng's expenses, 83.0 percent went toward paying her staff, compared to a House average of 78.5 percent.

Tim Walberg (R-Mich.), the next highest at 98.6 percent, used 13.7 percent of his budget on printing and franked mailings to constituents. The average member spent about 3.4 percent percent of their budgets on mass mailings during the same time frame.

Democrats Hank Johnson (Ga.), Robin Kelly (Ill.), Susan Davis (Calif.), Michael San Nicolas (Guam) and Jan Schakowsky (Ill.), as well as Republican Don Young (Alaska), also each spent more than 98 percent of their office budgets.

Democrats also spent more on average, with over 90.3 percent of budgets used. GOP members spent 88.0 percent. 

Jim Baird (R-Ind.), a freshman, reported the least expenses at 63.1 percent. Freshmen can have an advantage in saving money as their office staffs can take time to ramp up, easing the budget burden. The second lowest spender was Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) at 66.4 percent. However, congressional offices usually report some expenses after the year is over and last year she reported nearly 5 percent of her expenses late.

Any unspent funds are returned to the U.S. Treasury.