Victoria Spartz was named the ‘worst boss’ on Capitol Hill as staffers described her as a ‘manic’ rep who threw FURNITURE into her ‘toxic’ office

Republican Rep. Victoria Spartz’s former staffers have made explosive claims that she was “manic” and “abusive” and would throw furniture at aides.

The irascible, Ukrainian-born lawmaker from Indiana has been named the “worst boss” on Capitol Hill and her behavior is now at the center of an ethics complaint.

Her office was a revolving door of staffers who think they’re “tough” enough to handle it, only to head for the exit shortly afterwards.

One source said Spartz threw “shoes” at her precinct staff and “blew them” several times in front of voters.

Ethics officials have been in contact with former Spartz employees about the complaint, DailyMail.com has confirmed, but it is not clear what stage their investigation is at. Politics first reported the committee had conducted a ‘preliminary investigation’ into complaints about her behavior.

Normally the committee notifies a member when a formal investigation is underway, and Spartaz says it was not notified.

A former employee described her behavior to DailyMail.com as ‘manic’ and ‘verbally abrasive, if not bordering on insulting’.

Spartaz’s office has the highest turnover of any member of the House of Representatives, according to a Legistorm “worst bosses” count that tracks turnover from 2001 to 2023.

Two former aides said Spartz was known for “throwing furniture” at her staff and blowing up at them at both public and private events. “She didn’t care if people were watching.”

Two former staffers said they regularly received phone calls from Spartz at “one, two, three in the morning” where she blamed them for decisions she had approved only hours earlier.

According to two sources with direct knowledge, Spartz and her then-chief of staff got into a shouting match in the fall of 2021 that became so intense that the rest of the staff had to flee the building.

At one point, Spartz yelled at the supervisor that “she could do all the staff’s work better than her,” according to two witnesses, and the supervisor came out and ordered the rest of the staff out of the office to help them. ‘protect’ against the eruption.

But Spartaz allegedly treated its lower-level staffers worse.

“Her interactions with senior staff were much more polite than with lower-level staff,” the source said.

Interns, volunteers and social workers were often victims of her profanity-laden rants, the source said. “They don’t make a lot of money, it was completely inappropriate and inappropriate to treat them like that.”

The irascible Ukrainian-born Republican from Indiana has been named the “worst boss” on Capitol Hill, and her office has been a revolving door of staffers who think they are “tough” enough to handle her name-calling, only to exit shortly afterwards

Spartaz’s office has the highest turnover of any member of the House of Representatives, according to a Legistorm ‘worst bosses’ count that tracks turnover from 2001 to 2023

Two former staffers confirmed to DailyMail.com that they were aware of a “preliminary investigation” by the ethics committee into the treatment of staff. Politico reported that there was also a misuse of House resources for campaign purposes.

Spartaz lost its chief of staff, Patrick Slowinski, and communications director Michael Stevens this week. Slowinski had only been on the job for a few months.

The former aide said Spartz regularly left her children with staff at the district office and used them for “child care.”

One source with direct knowledge questioned why the committee received the complaint against Spartz before her controversial primary, but decided to wait until after the primary to contact former staff about the complaint.

“If it’s an impartial investigation and justice is blind, you don’t care who wins the primary, you just do your job.”

Spartz campaign adviser Dan Hazelwood said Spartz was not notified of any investigation by ethics staff and claimed that “no investigation was done.”

“The congressman has long been critical that too many people in Washington want power, pay and privilege and then turn around and do nothing,” he said. “When the system is held accountable, we get anonymous rumors and exaggerated stories.”

The ethics committee declined to comment.

Spartz announced her retirement last year before promptly changing course and running for re-election. She won her controversial primary last month, despite being outpaced by opponent Chuck Goodrich.

As the only Ukrainian-born member of Congress, Spartz saw a rapid rise in her profile when war broke out between Russia and Ukraine.

She initially pushed Congress to approve aid for her war-torn homeland, before withdrawing support for future aid to Ukraine and even backing an amendment that would have cut economic aid from the $61 billion for Ukraine which was passed by the House of Representatives in April. Her amendment failed and she voted against the final aid package.

The freewheeling congressman called former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy “weak” and said he showed “a lack of leadership in the spending debate that led to extending 2023 funding levels, but ultimately not for his voted to resign in October.

In her eyes, she is a hard worker and needs staff who can keep up with her speed.

Spartz was a leading voice in pushing for a budget debt commission that now remains in limbo – and believes she is a “nuanced” thinker who cares deeply about addressing healthcare competition and price transparency, as well as foreign affairs, reducing regulation and Chinese competition. .