 In December 1952, Robert F. Kennedy was appointed assistant counsel for the Committee on Government Operations by the then-chairman of the committee, Senator Joseph McCarthy. Kennedy resigned in July 1953, but rejoined the committee staff as chief minority counsel in February 1954. When the Democrats regained the majority in January 1955, Kennedy became the committee's chief counsel. Soon thereafter, the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations of the U.S. Senate Committee on Government Operations, under the leadership of Democratic Senator John L. McClellan (chair of the committee and subcommittee), began holding hearings into labor racketeering.
