Following her graduation, McHose was a legislative aide in father's district office, where she specialized in budget issues. During the George H. W. Bush administration, from 1988 until 1992, McHose worked at the National Endowment for the Humanities under Chairwoman Lynne Cheney and in the Department of the Treasury under Nicholas F. Brady. At the Republican National Convention in 2008, McHose served as a national delegate from New Jersey.