WASHINGTON—With the departure of Deputy Chief of Staff Joyce Meyer to the White House, today House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) announced several staff changes, including two additions to the Office of the Speaker.
Andy Speth will succeed Meyer as Deputy Chief of Staff. Speth has been with the Ryan since his first congressional race and served as the Chief of Staff in the First District of Wisconsin’s congressional office for 17 years. Since October 2015, he has served as a Senior Advisor in the Office of the Speaker. As Deputy Chief of Staff, Speth will oversee the operations of the speaker’s office as well as member services and public liaison functions.
Brendan Buck has been named Counselor to the Speaker. Since Ryan’s election to the speakership, Buck has been the speaker’s Chief Communications Advisor. As Counselor, he will take on a broader portfolio of long-term strategy and messaging in addition to his role overseeing the communications team.
Jennifer Hemingway joins the speaker’s office as Director of House Operations, replacing Kelly Craven, who returned to her native Indiana in January. Hemingway joins the speaker's office after most recently serving as Staff Director for the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. As a member of the speaker’s senior staff, she will work closely with the officers of the House on such matters as the physical and cyber security of the House, finance and administrative operations of the House, information technology, and ongoing campus renovations.
Jeff Dressler joins the speaker’s office as National Security Advisor, succeeding Jonathan Burks who was promoted in December to Chief of Staff. Dressler joins the speaker’s staff from the office of Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy. In this role, he will advise the speaker on the full range of foreign and security policy issues facing the country and will serve as the speaker’s designee to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence.
“I’m thrilled to welcome Jennifer and Jeff to our team,” said Speaker Ryan. “They are the kind of first-class professionals that we need at this moment. And of course Andy and Brendan have been two of the people closest to me for a long time, and I could not be more confident with them at my side. We have a great team, and we’re ready to deliver on our promises to the American people.”