House Legislative Director Maestas Joins Sen. Husted's Office as Appropriations Policy Adviser

A House-to-Senate Transition

David Maestas is joining Sen. Jon Husted's (R-OH) office as Appropriations Policy Adviser, a Senate staff change that brings experienced House-side talent to one of the chamber's newer members.

Maestas arrives at the Ohio senator's staff after serving in a series of increasingly senior roles on the House side. Most recently, he was Legislative Director for Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA-4), a position he held from January 2026 until this month. Before that, he served as Senior Legislative Assistant in Newhouse's office from May 2024 through the end of 2025. Earlier in his congressional career, Maestas worked as a Legislative Assistant for Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-TX-23) from July 2022 to May 2024, and before that spent a year as a Legislative Fellow on the House Education and the Workforce Committee.

His policy portfolio in the new role is broad, covering appropriations, armed forces and national security, education, energy, health, housing and community development, labor and employment, taxation, transportation and public works, small business, science and technology, social welfare, and women's issues, among others.

Maestas holds a Master of Education in Teaching of the Gifted and Talented from Southern Methodist University, earned between 2017 and 2019.

Jon Husted Office Staff: What Maestas Steps Into

The Jon Husted office staff hire comes at a pivotal moment for the freshman senator. Husted was assigned to the Senate Appropriations Committee in March 2026, an assignment he described as an opportunity to "be a stronger voice for Ohio, fighting for the state's needs while finding savings to protect taxpayers' hard-earned dollars."

That committee assignment makes the appropriations policy adviser role a central one. The Senate Appropriations Committee has been active this spring, holding budget justification hearings for fiscal year 2027 covering agencies including the U.S. Forest Service on May 6, the National Nuclear Security Administration on May 5, and NASA on May 4, where Jared Isaacman testified.

Husted also sits on the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, the Senate Small Business and Entrepreneurship Committee, and the Senate Special Committee on Aging, giving Maestas's wide-ranging portfolio direct relevance across multiple panels.

Legislation on the Docket

On the legislative front, Husted has been active in the 119th Congress across several of the policy areas Maestas will cover. The Nuclear REFUEL Act of 2025 has advanced the furthest, reaching the floor after clearing committee. The bill modifies federal nuclear regulations to streamline licensing for certain spent nuclear fuel reprocessing equipment.

Three other Husted-sponsored bills have cleared committee: the Over-the-Counter Monograph Drug User Fee Amendments, focused on pharmaceutical regulation; the Pay Our Military Act of 2025, addressing military compensation; and the DLARA, a government operations measure.

On education, Husted has introduced the RAISE Act of 2025, which would encourage states to develop academic standards for teaching artificial intelligence in K-12 schools, and the DECIDE Act, which would require the Department of Education to expand its College Scorecard with detailed financial data on individual programs.

The Broader Context

Husted is facing a competitive 2026 general election against former Sen. Sherrod Brown, and has been drawn into ongoing coverage of the FirstEnergy bribery scandal that prosecutors have described as the largest in Ohio's history. He served as lieutenant governor during the period in question and testified as a defense witness in the trial of two former FirstEnergy executives in March 2026. Husted has maintained he was not involved in the alleged conduct.

Separately, he drew scrutiny earlier this year after reports that he had received more than $100,000 in donations from Les Wexner, identified in February 2026 Justice Department documents as a co-conspirator of Jeffrey Epstein, and had voted to block the release of Epstein-related files. Husted subsequently announced he would donate the Wexner contributions to charity.

Maestas starts in the role as Husted's office works through a full appropriations season, with FY2027 budget hearings already underway across the subcommittees on which the senator sits.

Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.