Last we heard, Darcie Johnston was in D.C. prepping for president-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration. Trump’s Vermont campaign manager hoped to land a full-time job with the new administration.
Johnston, it appears, got her wish. Records obtained by ProPublica show that she was hired January 24 — just a few days after the inauguration — as a special assistant in the Department of Health and Human Services, a job listed at a starting salary of $88,136.
Johnston is one of 400 “beachhead team” hires the president has dispatched to various agencies of federal government to “serve as his eyes and ears,” the nonprofit news outlet said. Such positions are temporary and do not require the confirmation hearings appointees must undergo.
ProPublica described its list, obtained through public records requests, as “the complete accounting so far of who Trump has brought into the federal government.” Many are former lobbyists of the industries they now will be in a position to regulate — or deregulate.
Johnston herself is a longtime political operative who lobbied the Vermont legislature as the head of Vermonters for Health Care Freedom. Her group opposed former Democratic governor Peter Shumlin’s failed plan for government-funded universal health care coverage. She has also been an ardent opponent of the federal Affordable Care Act.
Reached Friday, Johnston said she could not comment on her new position.
A congressional Republican-led effort to repeal and replace the ACA is currently underway on Capitol Hill. Back in Vermont, members of Republican Gov. Phil Scott’s administration on Friday are scheduled to discuss the potential impacts a repeal could have on the state.
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She’ll fit right in with the Trump/ Ryan/ McConnell effort to take health care coverage away from millions, to remove benefits (like substance abuse coverage and preventative care) from millions more, and to make working people pay more for insurance in order to fund deep tax cuts for the wealthiest.
The fact that Trump is staffing the federal government with unqualified ideologues like Darcie Johnston is a reflection of what a train wreck this administration will be.
Sad!
Hope she leaves the state for good, bye
It’s interesting and shocking to see the actual face of a person who wants to take away my health insurance. Disgusting.
Congrats to Darcie on her new position. She has worked on health care reform for many years and she understands the problems we are facing as a nation on this issue to balance cost with effective care and access to the healthcare system.
I believe the article, extensively quoting another source, is unfairly biased, and I am dissappointed in Seven Days for publishing it as such. What new administration doesn’t hire their own people to work in key areas, particularly those who are qualified with experience and knowledge?
Vermont, under Shumlin, failed at healthcare reform. We have expanded Medicaid to the point where it has become a serious financial risk to the state with over 30% of our population on e program–that is far beyond any other state’s level. This has resulted in very high health care insurance costs which is effecting economic growth along with other anti-business policies.
Congratulations Darcie. Your dedicated work in Vermont will never go unknown. Best of luck on whatever adventures may come.