Kelly D. Johnston was elected and sworn in as secretary on June 8, 1995. The Oklahoma native first came to Capitol Hill in 1979 as a staff assistant for Representative John P. Hammerschmidt before becoming a communications director, first for the National Restaurant Association and then for Representative John Hiler. In 1983 Johnston was hired as the regional field manager for the National Republican Congressional Committee where he served for four years before joining the staff of then-Representative Jon Kyl as chief of staff. In 1989 he became deputy political director of the National Republican Senatorial Committee before crossing Pennsylvania Avenue to serve as deputy assistant secretary for public affairs at the U.S. Department of Transportation from 1991 to 1992. He returned to the Senate as executive director of the Republican Policy Committee in 1992, and three years later, Majority Leader Bob Dole named Johnston secretary of the Senate. As secretary, Johnston oversaw the opening of Daniel Webster Hall, the Senate page residence, in 1995. He became a key figure in implementing the Congressional Accountability Act of 1995, which significantly changed employment practices on Capitol Hill, and was closely involved in a major revision of lobbying registration.
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