Some people come to Capitol Hill looking for a change of pace; others can’t seem to leave. Such is the case in Rep. Spencer Bachus’s (R-Ala.) press shop, where Kate Drummond, 22, is a recently hired press assistant and Tim Johnson (no relation to the ailing South Dakota Democratic senator) is the new press secretary.

Drummond, 22, came to Bachus’s office last September. At the time, she filled in as the interim press secretary. Now that Bachus has hired Johnson, Drummond moves into the press assistant post. A native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., Drummond recently graduated from Birmingham-Southern College, where she studied business administration. After her sophomore year in college, she spent a summer interning for Bachus and couldn’t get the Hill completely off her radar screen. “I just kept in touch, and decided I wanted to move to D.C. after college,” she says.

And why is that? “It’s a little bigger than Birmingham,” she says. “I lived in Alabama my whole life, so I wanted to get out.” She assures, “I do love Alabama.” 

Johnson, meanwhile, is not new to the Hill. He has worked as press secretary and legislative director for then-Rep. Michael Oxley (R-Ohio) for the past six years. He is best known as the coordinator of the annual congressional baseball game and president of the Capitol Hill Tennis Club. Johnson, 47, a native of Jamestown, N.Y., graduated from Syracuse University.

In other office moves, Kelli Allred, who had been the scheduler, has left for the White House Correspondents office. In her stead is Clint Shoutte, a 2006 graduate of the University of Alabama. Another new staff assistant is Jonathon Stevens. Will Bland, a legislative assistant, moves on to the Department of Transportation.