Ousted VA Hospital Chief Of Staff Selected W. Va. GOP Chairman

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — An ousted chief of staff at a Veterans Affairs hospital has been selected as the chairman of the West Virginia Republican Party.

The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register reports state Republican officials chose Mark Harris over former state GOP Chairman Conrad Lucas on Saturday.

Harris replaces Melody Potter, who resigned in January. Harris was chief of staff at the Beckley VA Medical Center from 2017 to 2019.

He was dismissed after an investigation into sexual assault charges against a former doctor. Jonathan Yates was sentenced in January to 25 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges that he molested three male patients and violated their civil rights.

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