Despite the best efforts by his staff, Sen. Dean Heller (R-NV) has lost his coveted Capitol Hill office suite, Roll Call reported on Friday.
Under the rules of the biennial Senate office lottery, junior senators are required to show their suites to more senior members, who then have 24 hours to decide whether or not to take over the new space. A report last week indicated that the Nevada Republican’s aides had been uncooperative with staffers for other members who had inquired about the office, which Heller inherited after former Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) resigned amid scandal.
The report last week suggested that Heller’s team had failed to accomodate requests to see the office, prompting tension and complaints from other members. One encounter with staff for Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) was said to turn particularly contentious.
But on Friday, it was confirmed that Heller had finally relinquished his space to Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS). Moran ranks 74th in Senate seniority, while Heller ranks 85th. And while other senators reportedly had a frustrating experience with Heller, Moran’s staff had no such complaints.
“We’ve selected Sen. Heller’s office. His staff was great to work with and showed Sen. Moran and our staff their suite multiple times,” Moran spokeswoman Garrette Silverman said in an email, according to Roll Call.
