Ashley Callen: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Ashley Hurt Callen is a Republican attorney and the chief counsel for the Oversight and Investigations subcommittee for the GOP minority on the House Judiciary Committee. Callen is questioning witnesses Steve Castor and Daniel Goldman during the December 9 impeachment inquiry hearing before the Judiciary Committee. Castor, a fellow Republican, and Goldman, a Democrat, are lawyers for the House Intelligence Committee.

Callen, 42, has been in her position since November 2019, according to her Linkedin profile. She was previously a senior advisor and counsel to the GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee from February 2019 to November 2019. She also serves as general counsel and staff director to the Republican members of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, a role she has had since January 2016.

Here’s what you need to know about Ashley Callen:

1. Ashley Callen Has Been a Republican Lawyer in the House Since 2007

Ashley Callen at the House Judiciary Committee hearing.

From January 2015 to December 2015, Callen was the deputy chief counsel for oversight for the House Committee on Agriculture, and from August 2013 to January 2015 she was the deputy chief counsel for investigations for the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.

She was also a senior counsel and counsel for the Oversight and Government Reform Committee from 2007 to 2013.

Callen is paid about $160,931 per year from her various roles as an adviser, counsel, staff director and telecommunications administrator, to Republican members of the House, according to Legistorm.

2. Callen Previously Worked as a Legislative Director, a Legislative Assitant to Senator Strom Thurmond & a Law Clerk for the U.S. Air Force General Counsel

Ashley Hurt Callen looks at a graphic showing Rep. Adam Schiff as missing on a milk carton.

Callen was a legislative director for a House Republican congressman from 2005 to 2007, and a legislative assistant for the U.S. Senate from 1999 to 2003. Callen was a law clerk for the U.S. Air Force General Counsel from 2003 to 2005.

Callen worked for the late Republican South Carolina Senator Strom Thurmond in his Washington office from 1999 to 2003. She was then the legislative director and general counsel for Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert, of Texas, from 2005 to 2007.

3. Callen, Who Graduated From the University of South Carolina & George Mason Law, Was a Bridesmaid in Fox News Host Ainsley Earhardt’s Wedding

Ashley Callen sits next to Rep. Doug Collins.

Ashley H. Callen earned her bachelor’s degree in English from the University of South Carolina in 1999, with a minor in French. Callen graduated from the George Mason University School of Law in 2004. Callen studied at George Mason while she was working in Congress as a legislative aide.

Callen wrote about her time working for Senator Strom Thurmond in the book “The Centennial Senator,” which collected stories about Thrumond from those who knew him. She said, “When I was a page for the Senator he gave me a bar of soap. He always brought back soaps and shampoos from his travels. I remember thinking that was so thoughtful of him to remember me like that. I mean, I was just a page. He didn’t have to do that.”

GettyAshley Callen speaks with Rep. Doug Collins.

Callen was a bridesmaid in the 2005 wedding of “Fox & Friends” host Ainsley Earhardt and her first husband, Kevin McKinney, according to GoUpstate.com. Callen and Earhardt are both from South Carolina. Callen also wrote a review of Earhardt’s book, “The Light Within Me: An Inspirational Memoir.” She wrote, “Ainsley’s heartfelt and uplifting memoir is a must read for all evangelicals.”

4. Callen Was Born Ashley Hurt in South Carolina & Went to Prep School in Connecticut

Ashley Callen looks on as Rep. Doug Collins speaks.

Callen, whose maiden name is Ashley Hurt, was born and raised in South Carolina. She attended Choate Rosemary Hall, a prep school in Connecticut, for high school, according to her Linkedin profile.

She graduated from Choate in 1995. In 2018, she gave athlethes from her former high school a tour of her workplace.

Michael Velez, Choate’s lacrosse coach, told The Choate News, “Off the field, the highlight was a tour of the Capitol with Ashley Callen ’95, which gave us the opportunity to hear how Ashley’s Choate experience helped her enter a career in politics. During the visit, the team had the chance to go out on the floor of the House of Representatives and the Speaker’s Balcony.”

5. Callen Is Married & Lives With Her Husband & Children in Virginia

Ashley Hurt Callen.

Ashley Callen is married to Greg Callen. They have a daughter and two sons together, according to Callen’s social media pages, and they live together in Virginia. On Instagram, Callen writes in her profile, “Living In the Arl ????‍♀️???⚖️but wish I was living @ the ???”

According to his Linkedin profile, Greg Callen, 43, is a partner at Daston Corporation, an IT service management company based in Leesburg, Virginia. He was previously a sales executive at McAfee, Foundstone and Oracle Corporation. He graduated from The Citadel in 1998 with a business degree.