Who to know for health policy on team Scalise

Francis Brooke, policy director in the Majority Leader's office

• Brooke is well known in GOP policy circles, having worked for Mitch McConnell and, later, as an energy adviser in the Trump White House.
• He's Scalise's lead on energy issues and would likely be a big player in any future negotiation on environmental permitting.
• The former pitcher on the Northwestern baseball team has a lengthy resume and got lots of plaudits from the folks we've been talking to around town.
• "Francis is seasoned. He's deep in policy expertise and has a tremendous amount of experience at a pretty senior level," said George David Banks, who worked with Brooke in the Trump White House.

Alye Mlinar, former policy advisor in the Majority Leader's office

• It was announced last week that Mlinar is joining Mehlman Consulting, a bipartisan lobbying firm whose health care clients include American Medical Association, Humana, AHIP, Blue Cross Blue Shield and HCA.
• Mlinar's departure leaves an opening for a new health policy staffer to be hired. Lobbyists we consulted said they expected someone from the outside.
• But Mlinar will likely be influential in pushing for health policy priorities on the Hill, say lobbyists we consulted.
• She first joined Scalise in 2021 as a policy advisor in his Minority Whip office.
• Before that she worked as a health staffer for House Ways and Means, where she focused on health tax, Medicare Advantage, Medicare prescription drugs and other policies.
• She's also been a policy analyst for the Senate Republican Policy Committee in the office of ex-Sen. Ben Sasse and a research associate for the Heritage Foundation.

Marty Reiser, principal of government relations at S-3 Group

• Reiser is the other powerful health lobbyist known to have Scalise's ear, say the lobbyists we consulted.
• He started in Scalise's personal office in 2014 and became his deputy policy director when Scalise became the Republican whip in 2017.
• He served as Scalise's policy director from 2020 to 2021 before leaving to join S-3 to help develop a health care and tax practice at the bipartisan lobbying firm.
• He also worked as a professional health staff member on Ways and Means for several years before joining Scalise.
• His work on the committee covered the ACA, health-related tax policy, employer sponsored insurance and Medicare policies, according to S-3's website.
• Reiser represents clients including Alliance of Community Health Plans, American Optometric Association, Horizon Therapeutics and Humana, per 2023 registered lobbyist filings.

Nick Sobczyk contributed to this report.