Senator Carper Announces Changes to Leadership in His Washington Office

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.) announced the following change to his Washington, D.C. staff effective on April 21.

Bill Ghent has been promoted to chief of staff of the Washington office, replacing Jim Reilly, who has served as Sen. Carper’s chief of staff since 2007.  Ghent joined Sen. Carper’s team in April 2003, serving as communications director before being promoted to legislative director in 2007.

“Bill has done a superb job of managing my agenda and leading our legislative team for the past seven years and I am confident he will be an outstanding chief of staff,” Sen. Carper said. “Bill has been my eyes and ears in the Senate, and I will continue to rely on his candid counsel on the most important issues facing Delaware and our country.   I have been fortunate to have him on our team during a number of exciting and challenging periods and I am thrilled he has agreed to take on this new role as chief of staff.”

Prior to joining Senator Carper’s team, Ghent had an eight-year stint as a journalist, covering Congress for various inside-the-Beltway publications, including National Journal’s Congress Daily.  He is a graduate of Trinity College in Connecticut and received a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University.  He lives in Washington, D.C. 

“Jim Reilly has been a trusted advisor to me for over a decade and a thoughtful leader of my staff during some very exciting and challenging times in Washington, D.C.,” Sen. Carper said. “One of the keys to my success has always been to surround myself with smart, talented people who know how to get things done.  Not only is Jim one of those people, but he has always made sure in his role as my chief of staff that there are an abundance of people like that on our staff. Jim’s perspective, intelligence, and ability to build consensus has played a critical role in enabling me to accomplish things in the Senate.  We will deeply miss his leadership of my staff in DC and in Delaware.  I will always be grateful to him for his help, his service to Delaware and his friendship.”