Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has hired a staffer for fellow Republican U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton as his new senior health policy adviser.
Hutchinson's office on Monday announced he had hired John Martin to the post, starting Sept. 8. Martin is currently Cotton's deputy legislative director, which he has advised the freshman senator on domestic policy issues such as health care and agriculture.
Martin previously worked on former Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson's unsuccessful U.S. Senate bid in Wisconsin and also has worked as a consultant for Deloitte.
Martin, a Texas native, is joining the governor's staff as a legislative task force is studying the future of the state's compromise Medicaid expansion.
