Kenneth Jay Pepper Moves Up in Rep. McClain's Office
Kenneth Jay Pepper has been promoted to Legislative Correspondent in the office of Rep. Lisa McClain (R-MI-9), a House staff appointment that marks a step up from his prior role as Staff Assistant in the same Michigan congressional office. The move is a straightforward internal promotion — Pepper has worked exclusively for McClain since joining her staff.
From Staff Assistant to Legislative Correspondent
Pepper joined McClain's office as a Staff Assistant in July 2025 and was elevated to his current role as Legislative Correspondent in April 2026. He is a University of Michigan graduate, having earned his bachelor's degree between 2021 and 2025. He has no prior congressional staff experience outside McClain's office and no record of registered lobbying activity.
As a Legislative Correspondent, Pepper handles constituent mail and correspondence across the full range of policy issues that flow into McClain's office. No specific issue area is assigned to his position, meaning he covers the breadth of the congresswoman's portfolio — which spans housing, agriculture, financial services, defense, education, and government operations.
The Office Kenneth Jay Pepper Works In
McClain is not a backbencher. She was elected by House Republicans to serve as Chairwoman of the House Republican Conference in the 119th Congress — the fourth-highest-ranking Republican in the House and the highest-ranking woman in Congress. That leadership profile shapes the volume and variety of constituent correspondence Pepper would be managing.
McClain sits on the House Education and the Workforce Committee, the House Armed Services Committee, and the House Financial Services Committee, along with several subcommittees spanning higher education, military readiness, and cyber policy.
Her legislative output in the 119th Congress has been active. Among her most advanced bills:
- The Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act of 2025 (H.R.1716), which passed the House and was referred to the Senate Banking Committee, would impose sanctions on China in the event of an invasion of Taiwan.
- The Whole Milk for Healthy Kids Act of 2025 (H.R.649) would revise school lunch milk requirements and bar purchases from Chinese state-owned enterprises.
- The EBSA Investigations Transparency Act (H.R.2869) targets transparency in how the Department of Labor's Employee Benefits Security Administration conducts investigations into employee benefit plans.
- A cluster of housing bills — including the Modular Housing Production Act (H.R.6270), the ROAD to Housing Act of 2025 (H.R.6337), and the Build Now Act of 2025 (H.R.6363) — address housing supply constraints.
Committee Activity Relevant to the Role
The committees McClain sits on have been active in the 119th Congress, generating hearings that touch on issues constituents are likely writing about.
The Education and the Workforce Committee has held hearings on college affordability, campus antisemitism, workforce development and AI-readiness, and WIOA reauthorization — all areas where constituent mail tends to run heavy.
On the Armed Services side, the committee has examined the Department of Defense's fiscal year 2026 budget request, defense acquisition reform, and the information technology posture of the Pentagon — the last of which is directly relevant to McClain's seat on the Cyber, Information Technologies and Innovation Subcommittee.
Financial Services hearings have covered housing costs and borrowing, digital assets regulation, and Dodd-Frank at fifteen years.
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