Will Brooke worked as chief of staff to U.S. Senator Conrad Burns (R-Montana) from November 2000 until the end of 2003, when he quit "to resume his Bozeman law practice and be the statewide chief" for President George W. Bush's Montana re-election campaign, Burns said in December 2003. In January 2001 Brooke went on a trip to Super Bowl XXXV in Tampa, Florida paid for (against House ethics rules) by Jack Abramoff's SunCruz Casinos. Also on the trip were Burns appropriations staffer Ryan Thomas, Tom DeLay staffers, and Bob Ney chief of staff Neil Volz.