Rep. Victoria Spartz’s (R-IN) campaign denied claims that she’s the subject of a House Ethics Committee inquiry into her treatment of staff after a report emerged of her alleged “abuse.”
Spartz is facing allegations that she verbally abused staffers, imposed pay cuts on them, and affected others with her “rage” and “general toxicity,” according to Politico.
The Indiana Republican’s campaign adviser, Dan Hazelwood, denied that the committee had contacted her. He also dismissed accusations against her, including one in which former employees alleged Spartz said, “I would rather die than not complete a task. Can you give me that same level of commitment?”
“The congresswoman has long been critical that too many in Washington want power, pay, and privilege then turn around and do nothing,” Hazelwood said in a statement to the Washington Examiner.
“When the system is held to account, we get anonymous rumors and exaggerated stories. She did not ask anyone to die. She does not ask for personal chores or staff to cook her dinners. She does insist that people be held accountable for delivering policy results to the American people,” he added.
Hazelwood responded to a question about the alleged pay cuts, which amounted to “tens of thousands of dollars,” saying, “Staff responsibilities did change. So people who held dual jobs which had their pay increased because of workload shifted back to single jobs and lower pay, but still higher than they were previously.”
The Washington Examiner further pressed Hazelwood on reports of Spartz’s treatment of employees, which stretch back more than two years, as well as what Spartz’s staff thinks of her.
“Congresswoman Spartz first and foremost wants an office that gets things done for the people of the 5th District. Frankly, that is more important than hill staff. She continues to have long-serving constituent caseworkers who have been consistently outstanding. The congresswoman will continue to shift staff as necessary to get results,” he said.
“At the end of the day, it’s the people who matter, not the staff. While there are hard feelings, there are also many loyal staff, current and past,” he added.
A representative for the House Ethics Committee declined to comment to the Washington Examiner.
The complaints were filed with the panel last month, but the committee reportedly chose not to investigate until recently because it did not want to give the appearance that it was interfering in her primary election. Since the complaints were filed, Spartz warned staffers to stop talking to Politico reporters.
“If you feel strongly to badmouth me I am ok with it … but please do not use some made up speculations that could put someone’s life in danger … it’s unethical and will not serve you well in the future,” she wrote in the text shared to the outlet by a former staffer.
Patrick Slowinski, Spartz’s chief of staff, as well as a communications director, recently resigned. Slowinski had been on the job for less than a month.
“We are sorry to see Patrick depart; he is very competent,” Hazelwood said. “The congresswoman announced she was running again and just came through a difficult primary, so the office is being reorganized, and several positions are being modified.”
In other instances, the congresswoman reportedly likened “her aides’ writing skills to those of elementary-school students,” called staffers “idiots,” and those under Spartz called her behavior “manic.”
When the outlet called Spartz the “House’s ‘worst boss’” in 2022, it cited several interviews and the nonpartisan website Legistorm, which listed her as the House member with the most employee turnover in 2021, the year she entered office.
She played the allegations off then, saying, “I’m grateful to my current and former staff. I work extremely hard at a pace that is not for everyone. I remain focused on working hard for the people of Indiana.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Spartz immigrated to the United States from Ukraine and was one of the first lawmakers to travel to the country when Russia restarted its conflict with them. She’s one of a small number of House lawmakers who are foreign-born and the only one from Ukraine.
Spartz defeated her Republican rivals last month in her GOP primary and will face Democrat Deborah Pickett in November, a race she is expected to win.
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