Brian Darling (born 1965) is the president and founder of the firm Liberty Government Affairs. He was Senior Communications Director and Counsel for Senator

Rand Paul Randal Howard Paul (born January 7, 1963) is an American politician serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States senator from Kentucky since 2011. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

(R-KY) and a former senior fellow in government studies at

The Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

, a

conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...

think-tank A think tank, or public policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, technology, and culture. Most think tanks are non-governme ...

based in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Darling has been involved in U.S. politics since the early 1990s, in roles as a congressional aide, lobbyist and legal counsel. Darling resigned as legal counsel to Republican Senator

Mel Martinez Mel, Mels or MEL may refer to: Biology * Mouse erythroleukemia cell line (MEL) * National Herbarium of Victoria, a herbarium with the Index Herbariorum code MEL People * Mel (given name), the abbreviated version of several given names (including ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

after admitting he was the author of the

Schiavo memo The Terri Schiavo case was a series of court and legislative actions in the United States from 1998 to 2005, regarding the care of Theresa Marie Schiavo (née Schindler) (; December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), a woman in an irreversible ...

Early life and education

Darling was born and grew up in

Andover, Massachusetts Andover is a town in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. It was Settler, settled in 1642 and incorporated in 1646."Andover" in ''Encyclopedia Britannica, The New Encyclopædia Britannica''. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 15th ed. ...

. He attended the

University of Massachusetts Amherst The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) is a public land-grant research university in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. It is the flagship campus of the University of Massachusetts system and was founded in 1863 as the ...

, where he launched a conservative student publication, ''The Minuteman'', with fellow student

Tony Rudy Tony Charles Rudy (born May 3, 1966) is an American politician. He served in the office of U. S. Representative Tom DeLay ( R- TX) from approximately 1995 to 2001, and rose to be his deputy Chief of Staff. Rudy then began working with Jack Abramo ...

. Darling received his

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

degree from the

New England School of Law New England Law Boston (formerly New England School of Law, and styled as New England Law Boston) is a private law school in Boston, Massachusetts. It was founded as Portia School of Law in 1908 and is located in downtown Boston near the Massa ...

Career

Darling joined the U.S. Congress as an aide to

Idaho Idaho ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest and Mountain states, Mountain West subregions of the Western United States. It borders Montana and Wyoming to the east, Nevada and Utah to the south, and Washington (state), ...

Senator

Steve Symms Steven Douglas Symms (April 23, 1938 – August 8, 2024) was an American politician and lobbyist who served as a four-term congressman (1973–1981) and two-term U.S. Senator (1981–1993), representing Idaho. He later became a partner at Parr ...

in 1992. The following year, Darling worked for

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

Senator

Paul Coverdell Paul Douglas Coverdell (January 20, 1939 – July 18, 2000) was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 1993 until his death in 2000. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as the director o ...

. Darling became General Counsel to

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

Senator Bob Smith in 1999. In January 2000, he and Senator Smith visited

Cuban Cuban or Cubans may refer to: Related to Cuba * of or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean * Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent ** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof * Cuban Americ ...

refugee

Elián González Elián González Brotons (born December 6, 1993) is a Cuban engineer and politician. As a six-year-old child, he was at the center of a high-profile international custody dispute between family members and involving Cuba and the United States. ...

before proposing legislation to grant González permanent residency. He was also a member of the Bush- Cheney recount team in Florida during the 2000 presidential election controversy and co-chairman of the Conservative Working Group, a weekly legislative strategy meeting of staffers from House and Senate offices. In 2003, Darling became a partner in the

Alexander Strategy Group Alexander Strategy Group was an American lobbying firm involved in the K Street Project. The firm was founded by Ed Buckham, a former chief of staff to House Majority Leader Tom Delay, and his wife Wendy. The firm openly promoted its access to DeLa ...

lobbying firm, where he advocated for

gun rights The right to keep and bear arms (often referred to as the right to bear arms) is a legal right for people to possess weapons (arms) for the preservation of life, liberty, and property. The purpose of gun rights is for self-defense, as well as ...

and other issues. He was a chief strategist for Senate legislation permitting airline pilots to carry handguns on the job. In 2005, Darling became a legal counsel to

Senator

. He resigned from the position in May of that year following a controversy involving a strategy memo he had written based on the

Terri Schiavo case The Terri Schiavo case was a series of court and legislative actions in the United States from 1998 to 2005, regarding the care of Theresa Marie Schiavo (née Schindler) (; December 3, 1963 – March 31, 2005), a woman in an irreversible ...

. Later that year, Darling became director of United States Senate relations for

, where he was responsible for educating Senators and their staff about Heritage's latest research and policy recommendations. During his time with Heritage, Darling wrote a research paper on the filibuster titled “The Filibuster Protects the Rights of All Senators and the American People,” and one on the Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution. Darling was also a frequent spokesman for Heritage on Fox, Fox Business, MSNBC, and CNN. While at

, Darling had a regular column at Human Events. After his time at Heritage, he wrote for ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

''. From 2012 to 2015, Darling served as both Counsel and Sr. Communications Director for Sen.

(R-KY). In 2017, Darling founded the government relations firm Liberty Government Affairs to conduct public relations,

lobbying Lobbying is a form of advocacy, which lawfully attempts to directly influence legislators or government officials, such as regulatory agency, regulatory agencies or judiciary. Lobbying involves direct, face-to-face contact and is carried out by va ...

, and outreach to the liberty movement.

Schiavo memo

The

was a

talking point A talking point is a pre-established message or formula used in the field of political communication, sales and commercial or advertising communication. The message is coordinated ''a priori'' to remain more or less invariable regardless of which ...

s memorandum on behalf of the Republican party, which described the ongoing Terri Schiavo case as "a great political issue" that could appeal to the party's base.] Senator Martinez, who claimed not to have read the memo, had inadvertently passed it to

Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...

Senator

Tom Harkin Thomas Richard Harkin (born November 19, 1939) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as a United States Senate, United States senator from Iowa from 1985 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Pa ...

, a Democratic supporter of the legislation to keep Schiavo alive. National media outlets began reporting the existence of the memo shortly thereafter on March 18, 2005. On April 6, 2005, Darling admitted to writing the memo and resigned his position as legal counsel to Martinez.

References

External links

* staff bio from

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Darling, Brian 1965 births Living people American lawyers Maryland Republicans Massachusetts Republicans New England Law Boston alumni Politicians from Andover, Massachusetts Lawyers from Washington, D.C. The Heritage Foundation people United States congressional aides University of Massachusetts Amherst alumni Washington, D.C., Republicans