Michael Steel, a top spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) is joining former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s (R) political action committee.
Steel is moving from Boehner’s office where he’s served as press secretary sine 2008. He will serve as a senior adviser for Bush’s Right to Rise Policy Solutions PAC, according to Politico, which first broke the news on Monday.
As press secretary Steel has also served as a top adviser to the House speaker.
“Ask anyone in the Capitol – Republican, Democrat, or otherwise – about Michael Steel, and they will tell you the same thing: he is a pro’s pro,” Boehner said in a statement.
Steel graduated from the University of North Carolina and Columbia University’s journalism school.
In late 2014 Steel was caught on a hot mic cursing at reporters for their phrasing of questions about the CRomnibus.
“The way those questions were phrased was horseshit,” Steel said within the range of the mics.
In 2012, Steel took time off from Capitol Hill to serve as press secretary for Rep. Paul Ryan (R-W) on the Romney-Ryan campaign. In 2014, he served as a senior adviser to now-Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC).
The move is yet another sign that Bush seems to be preparing to jump into the 2016 presidential race. Over the last few months, he’s been fundraising and hiring staff in a way that strongly suggests he will run for president. He’s expected to announce his candidacy in mid-June.
