EXCLUSIVEVictoria Spartz was named the 'worst boss' on Capitol Hill, as staffers describe her as a 'manic' representative who threw FURNITURE in her 'toxic' office
Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz's former staffers have made explosive claims she was 'manic' and 'abusive' and would throw furniture at aides.
The hot-tempered Ukrainian-born Indiana lawmaker has been named the 'worst boss' on Capitol Hill and her conduct is now at the center of an ethics complaint.
Her office has been a revolving door of staffers who think they are 'tough' enough to handle it, only to head for the exits shortly after.
One source said that Spartz had 'thrown shoes' at her district staff, and 'blew up' at them in front of constituents on multiple occasions.
Ethics staffers have been in contact with former Spartz aides about the complaint, DailyMail.com has confirmed, but it's not clear at what stage their probe is. Politico first reported the committee had made 'preliminary inquiries' into complaints about her behavior.
The committee would typically notify a member if they are under a formal investigation, and Spartz says she has not been notified.
One former staffer described her behavior to DailyMail.com as 'manic' and 'verbally abrasive, if not borderline abusive.'
Spartz's office has the highest turnover of any House member, according to a Legistorm 'worst bosses' tally that tracks turnover from 2001 to 2023.
Former staffers of Rep. Victoria Spartz are in contact with the House Ethics Committee over a complaint that she allegedly 'abused' her staff
Two former aides said Spartz was known to 'throw furniture' at her staff and she was known to blow up at them at both public or private events. 'She was unfazed by whether people were watching.'
Two former staffers said they would frequently get calls at 'one, two, three in the morning' from Spartz where she would blame them for decisions that she had given approval to only hours earlier.
In the fall of 2021, Spartz and her then-chief of staff allegedly got into a screaming match that got so bad the rest of the staff had to flee the premises, according to two sources with direct knowledge.
At one point Spartz shouted at the chief that 'she could do all of the staff's jobs better than them,' according to two witnesses, and the chief came out and instructed the rest of the staff to leave the office to 'shield' them from the outburst.
But Spartz allegedly treated her lower-level staffers worse.
'Her interactions with senior staff were much more civil than they were at lower level staff,' a source said.
Often interns, volunteers and caseworkers were the victims of her profanity-laden tirades, according to the source. 'They don't make a lot of money, to treat them like that was wholly uncalled for and inappropriate.'
The hot-tempered, Ukrainian-born Indiana Republican has been named 'worst boss' on Capitol Hill, and her office has been a revolving door of staffers who think they are 'tough' enough to handle her berating, only to head for the exits shortly after
Spartz's office has the highest turnover of any House member, according to a Legistorm 'worst bosses' tally that tracks turnover from 2001 to 2023
Two former staffers confirmed to DailyMail.com they were aware of a 'preliminary probe' by the Ethics Committee over staff treatment. Politico reported that it also involved misuse of House resources for campaign purposes.
Spartz lost her chief of staff, Patrick Slowinski, and communications director, Michael Stevens, this week. Slowinski had only been on the job a matter of months.
The former aide said that Spartz would frequently leave her children with staff in the district office, using them for 'childcare.'
One source with direct knowledge questioned why the committee had received the complaint against Spartz before her contentious primary but chosen to wait until after the primary to get in contact with former staff about the complaint.
'If it's a nonpartisan probe and justice is blind then you don't care who wins the primary, you just do your job.'
Spartz campaign advisor Dan Hazelwood said Spartz has not been made aware of any sort of investigation by Ethics staff and claimed 'there is no probe.'
'The congresswoman has long been critical that too many in Washington want power, pay, and privilege then turn around and do nothing,' he said. 'When the system is held to account, we get anonymous rumors and exaggerated stories.'
The Ethics Committee declined to comment.
Spartz announced her retirement last year before promptly reversing course and running for reelection. She won her contentious primary last month despite being outspent by opponent Chuck Goodrich.
As the only Ukrainian-born member of Congress, Spartz saw a meteoric rise to her profile when war broke out between Russia and Ukraine.
She at first urged Congress to approve aid for her war-torn homeland, before rescinding support for future Ukraine aid and even sponsoring an amendment that would have stripped economic aid from the $61 billion for Ukraine that passed the House in April. Her amendment failed and she voted against the final aid package.
The free-wheeling congresswoman called former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy 'weak' and said he displayed a 'lack of leadership in the spending debate that led to extending 2023 levels of funding, but ultimately did not vote for his ouster in October.
In her mind, she is a hard worker and she needs a staff that can keep up with her speed.
Spartz was a key voice in pushing for a fiscal debt commission that now remains in limbo - and believes she is a 'nuanced' thinker who cares deeply about tackling the healthcare competition and price transparency behemoth as well as foreign affairs, cutting regulations and China competition.
