Word: baucus
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...then, Baucus, who turns 68 this Friday, had begun a relationship with the lawyer Melodee Hanes, 53. Early this year, he had nominated her to be U.S. Attorney for Montana, a Presidential appointment. The nomination was later withdrawn, he said, so that they could live together in D.C. There was much tittering in Washington circles (particularly among those opposed to health-care reform) when Reuters broke the news over the weekend. The Democratic Senator's office declared that the nomination was made on Hanes' merits and not because of the romantic relationship. (See 5 things the Democrats don't like...
...couple was later freed after Bennett's autopsy report and his methods were discredited by peer-reviewing pathologists. The prosecution then moved for dismissal of charges. (Bennett's Iowa controversy was reported in-depth by the Los Angeles Times in July 1999.) (See a story about why Max Baucus is Mr. Health Care...
...undisclosed reasons. Petite and bright-eyed, Hanes was a mover and shaker in Iowa political and social circles, and in Montana she soon charmed local Democratic party leaders and the boards of several non-profits. After a short stint with the county prosecutor's office in Billings, she joined Baucus' local field office staff in 2002. He made her his state director in 2005, overseeing seven field offices. In December 2008, she worked briefly as a senior adviser to the Senate Finance Committee chaired by Baucus...
...would have weathered a Senate confirmation process for the federal prosecutor post is now moot because the nomination has been dropped. In any case, Hanes already has another job in Washington, a political appointment with the Justice Department at a post overseeing juvenile justice issues. Those close to Baucus are concerned that he let the Hanes revelation come up while he was in the middle of the health-care battle, possibly the most crucial legislative action of his long career...
Nevertheless, Baucus is indisputably at a career high. He is flush with millions in leftover campaign funds and is chair of the Senate Finance Committee. He also has influence in the White House in the form of his former chief of staff, Jim Messina, who is now a senior White House aide. And with Hanes at his side, he has embarked on another chance at love...