Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar reportedly gave her staffers tardy slips, sends mean emails


Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) is going to announce her candidacy for president on Sunday, she strongly suggested to MSNBC's Rachel Maddow on Tuesday night, on an island in Minnesota.
On Wednesday evening, HuffPost reported that "at least three people have withdrawn from consideration" to lead Klobuchar's 2020 presidential campaign "n part because of the Minnesota Democrat’s history of mistreating her staff." Klobuchar is "beloved in her state as a smart, funny and personable lawmaker," HuffPost notes, but several former staffers describe her as "habitually demeaning and prone to bursts of cruelty that make it difficult to work in her office for long."
None of those staffers are named, and Klobuchar's office pointed HuffPost to several named former staffers who gave glowing endorsements of working for her. HuffPost does list a couple of anecdotes, though, including late-night group emails describing a staffer's work as "the worst" briefing or press release she's ever seen, Klobuchar's apparent struggle once to hire a chief of staff, and a staffer in another office recounting losing interest in a job with Klobuchar when told avoiding the senator's anger was a big part of the job. Then there's this story:
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
One morning several years ago, when most of the office staff was running late — the ex-staffer couldn't remember the reason — Klobuchar wrote out tardy slips and placed them on each missing aide's desk. The staffer recalls incredulous bursts of laughter as her co-workers arrived one by one to find the notes, but Klobuchar was deadly serious. An aide whom she called into her office walked back out in tears. "She was constantly lighting new fires," a former staffer said. [HuffPost]
The accounts from staffers may vary, but "what is indisputable," HuffPost says, "is that Klobuchar's office consistently has one of the highest rates of staff turnover in the Senate." You can read more at HuffPost.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.
-
Supreme Court clears third-country deportations
Speed Read The court allowed Trump to temporarily resume deporting migrants to countries they aren't from
-
Judges order release of 2 high-profile migrants
Speed Read Kilmar Ábrego García is back in the US and Mahmoud Khalil is allowed to go home — for now
-
US assessing bomb damage to Iran nuclear sites
Speed Read Trump claims this weekend's US bombing obliterated Tehran's nuclear program, while JD Vance insists the US is 'not at war with Iran'
-
Trump's LA deployment in limbo after court rulings
Speed Read Judge Breyer ruled that Trump's National Guard deployment to Los Angeles was an 'illegal' overreach. But a federal appellate court halted the ruling.
-
Marines, National Guard in LA can detain Americans
speed read The troops have been authorized to detain anyone who interferes with immigration raids
-
Trump vows 'very big force' against parade protesters
Speed Read The parade, which will shut down much of the capital, will celebrate the US Army's 250th anniversary and Trump's 79th birthday
-
Smithsonian asserts its autonomy from Trump
speed read The DC institution defied Trump's firing of National Portrait Gallery Director Kim Sajet
-
Trump sends Marines to LA, backs Newsom arrest
speed read California Gov. Gavin Newsom is filing lawsuits in response to Trump's escalation of the federal response to ICE protests