A family affair in Congress

Written by Biloxi

LA Times wrote an article on Thursday the latest on Congresswoman Maxine Waters: Ms. Waters' chief of staff is Ms. Waters' grandson.

Meet Mikael Moore:

But even at 32, Moore is a young chief of staff. It is a position he sought after coming to work for his grandmother, whom he refers to only as Congresswoman, after graduating from Morehouse College in 2004.


Family ties are not uncommon in Washington — note the Bushes, the Kennedys — and though Congress has nepotism rules against hiring most siblings and spouses, grandchildren are excluded.


Moore is the son of Edward Waters, one of the congresswoman's two children, both of whom were noted in a 2004 Los Angeles Times story about money the family has made by doing business with companies and candidates the congresswoman has helped.


Moore's parents never married, yet both played a role in raising him, and he remained close to his grandmother.

Of course, Ms. Waters didn't break the rules of hiring her grandson unless Mr. Moore has ties to his grandmother's ethic charges which is the UnitedOne bank scandal in which he benefitted from his grandmother's and grandfather's [Sidney Williams] ties to the bank. Otherwise, this so-called latest news on Ms. Water hiring her grandson is not worthy news.

I notice that not much of the news are reporting that family affair in Congress has been going on for a long time before the Representatives Maxine Waters and Charles Rangel scandal. No one discusses the lawmakers that have family members as lobbyists that lobbies on a bill that will benefit that lawmaker.

In 2007, CREW released a report called 'Family Affair,' click here, which showed nepotism in Congress. CREW provided a chart of some members of Congress. Click here. 

Also in 2007, there was article studied the members of Congress called "Study Finds Nepotism in Congress:"

There are least 64 members of Congress who used campaign funds to pay family members, including San Bernardino Reps. Jerry Lewis, Howard “Buck” McKeon and Joe Baca, according to a recent report.

The report, released by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Government, lists 64 congressmen who have either paid a family member, has a family member that is a lobbyist, made a contribution to a family member’s political campaign, paid a company in which a family member has a financial interest or has used a position to benefit a family member.

According to the study, Republican McKeon’s campaign committee paid his wife, Patricia McKeon, $110,806 in salary and an additional $10,528 forreimbursements.

“We have always followed the rules,” said McKeon, who represents Victorville. “Patricia only gets paid for the work she does, and that’s the right thing to do.”

And then there was this revelation:

Republican Jerry Lewis employs his wife, Arlene, as his chief of staff.

She is paid a salary of nearly $111,000.


No one from Lewis’ office returned calls for comment.


House rules prohibit the hiring of a spouse to work on a congressman’s staff, but this doesn’t violate that rule because she worked for him before they were married.

If the House Ethic Committee is sending a message to drain the swamp as Speaker Nancy Pelosi has said, then why was the swamp drained years ago from both political parties?