He might have known a Republican ~ odds are most of the worker-bees in that agency are apolitical, but there have been reports of some serious management turnover in the area. That's always a sign that someone is doing a purge. If the career types aren't being rotated up the ladder, then they're bringing in outsiders to see if they can take command, and when they find someone who fits they leave them alone ~ until later! You've seen this in The Godather, right?
Goes on in Gub'mnt all the time.