Prior to his joining the firm, Hayden served as Chief of Staff to the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. Hayden managed more than 100 staff across leadership and political operations, oversaw a combined annual budget exceeding US$12 million. He directed cross-functional teams responsible for policy development, legislative strategy, communications, scheduling, and stakeholder engagement, while coordinating closely with congressional leadership, committee chairs, the executive branch, and international parliamentary leaders, including heads of G7 parliaments and multiple US Presidential administrations on global and domestic challenges. He also worked with political staff, national party leadership, the NRCC, and Speaker-aligned committees and PACs on political strategy, messaging, and election-year engagement.
His work focused primarily on aligning institutional priorities, managing complex negotiations, and advancing significant policy initiatives affecting domestic issues, national security, and the economy. Hayden played a key role in securing passage of major legislative initiatives under both the Biden and Trump administrations, including foreign aid packages for Ukraine and Israel and the Working Families Tax Cuts.
Prior to this role, Hayden served as Chief of Staff to Congressman Mike Johnson from 2017 to 2023, where he managed congressional and district operations, directed legislative and communications strategy, and helped coordinate policy initiatives with House Republican leadership.
Earlier in his career, he served as Executive Director of the House Conservatives Fund, the leadership PAC affiliated with the Republican Study Committee, where he led the organization to record fundraising levels during the 2020 election cycle while expanding its national digital and donor engagement programs.
He also served as a regional representative for U.S. Senator David Vitter and held leadership roles on federal and statewide political campaigns in Louisiana, including managing multiple successful campaigns.
