02.13.20

Secretary for the Majority Laura Dove to Retire from the Senate

WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) announced Thursday that long-serving Senate officer Laura Dove, the Secretary for the Majority, will conclude her Senate service at the end of February.

“Laura Dove has been an essential part of the United States Senate,” McConnell said. “The Secretary for the Majority is one of the most crucial people in this institution. Every Republican Senator has counted on Laura to listen to our goals and concerns and help translate them into action on the Senate floor.”

The Secretaries for the Majority and the Minority are elected officers of the United States Senate, nominated by their party’s leader. Among other duties, they manage their respective cloakrooms; negotiate the floor schedule; serve as liaisons between the two Leaders; keep members apprised of bills, amendments, motions, and nominations; and provide parliamentary guidance and strategic counsel to Senators on all matters that come before the Senate.

“Laura has excelled at all these duties and more,” McConnell continued. “She is a keen strategist who always thinks several steps ahead. She has not just been one of my own closest advisers, but a key resource to our entire majority and a central part of its many accomplishments. Senators and staff on both sides of the aisle will miss Laura a lot and I will be foremost among them.”

Dove began her service as a Senate page and returned in 1987 as an assistant in the Senate Republican Cloakroom under Republican Leader Bob Dole (R-KS). Her 20-plus-year record of distinguished Senate service spans several positions in the Republican Cloakroom, Conference, and Leadership, culminating in nearly seven years in her current position as Secretary for the Majority.

McConnell also announced that Assistant Republican Secretary Robert Duncan will succeed Dove as the next Secretary for the Majority.

Duncan is a nearly two-decade Senate veteran, beginning with service to Senator Bill Frist (R-TN) and including eight years of experience in his current position. “I am grateful that someone as talented and prepared as Robert Duncan is ready to step into this vital role,” McConnell said.