AshLee Strong, National Press Secretary for House Speaker Paul Ryan: “[The worst advice I ever got] Stay in your lane.”

Midterm elections are in T minus 6 days. Politicians are trying to convince you to hire them. And behind every politician...is a communications director helping them get the word out. So we brought in two of them to talk to us about how they do their jobs -- and how they made it to the top of the political game. Episode 1: AshLee Strong. AshLee has worked in communications roles all over Washington, from the House of Representatives, to the Senate, to the White House. She was even the senior communications director for Governor Scott Walker’s (R-WI) 2016 presidential run. These days, she’s the national press secretary for one of the most powerful Republicans in the country: House Speaker Paul Ryan. On the couch, she talks to us about what a comms director actually is, how she created a network in Washington, and what it’s like to disagree with your boss...when he’s the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices