![\"Mike](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/5bX7CcyP0o7eqjGuuouO5JEYYkM=\/1500x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(725x358:727x360):format(webp)\/mike-johnson-republican-speaker-candidate-102423_0628-ee2f45da97d247a6a578fd3c1e77d322.jpg\")
<\/div>\n<\/div>Hayden Haynes, the chief of staff to House Speaker\u00a0Mike Johnson, was arrested for alleged drunk driving on Tuesday, March 4, following President\u00a0Donald Trump\u2019s joint address to Congress.<\/p>\n
Johnson \u2014 who was elected speaker of the House in October 2023 \u2014 presided over Trump\u2019s address on Tuesday, sitting just behind him alongside Vice President\u00a0J.D. Vance.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement sources told\u00a0NBC News\u00a0that Haynes was arrested on DUI suspicion after backing his car into a parked Capitol vehicle. He was eventually released with a citation to appear in court.<\/p>\n
\u201cA driver backed into a parked vehicle last night around 11:40 p.m.,” the U.S. Capitol Police confirmed to PEOPLE. “We responded and arrested them for DUI.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Speaker is aware of the encounter that occurred last night involving his Chief of Staff and the Capitol Police,” Johnson spokesperson Taylor Haulsee said in a statement to NBC. “The Speaker has known and worked closely with Hayden for nearly a decade and trusted him to serve as his Chief of Staff for his entire tenure in Congress. Because of this and Hayden\u2019s esteemed reputation among Members and staff alike, the Speaker has full faith and confidence in Hayden\u2019s ability to lead the Speaker\u2019s office.\u201d<\/p>\n
PEOPLE reached out to Johnson\u2019s office for further comment.<\/p>\n Haynes is a powerful D.C. aide who has served as Johnson\u2019s chief of staff since 2017, long before he became the speaker. He previously worked for another Louisiana Republican, Sen. David Vitter, from 2009 to 2016.<\/p>\n Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer.<\/strong><\/p>\n DUI offenses in Washington, D.C., are prosecuted by the D.C. Office of the Attorney General, Brian L. Schwalb, not the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the District of Columbia, which presides over other crimes.<\/p>\n The interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, Ed Martin, is a conservative activist and Jan. 6 conspiracy theorist whom Trump hopes to install in the office full time. Last week, Martin\u00a0demoted several top prosecutors\u00a0in Jan. 6 lawsuits, including the leads on the Proud Boys and Oath Keepers cases.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" A spokesperson for House Speaker Mike Johnson suggested that chief of staff Hayden Haynes will not lose his job over the incident, given his “esteemed reputation” on… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":31046,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-31045","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"US](\"https:\/\/people.com\/thmb\/t6t9Q3DBh2tofXdp9frAha5-o54=\/4000x0\/filters:no_upscale():max_bytes(150000):strip_icc():focal(749x0:751x2):format(webp)\/Donald-Trumps-Congressional-Speech-50_03042025-3937cf817b3f4edc8a1913a76a8365eb.jpg\")
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