BOSTON — Leading Massachusetts Republican lawmakers are joining the choir of calls for Gov. Maura Healey to provide “full transparency” on the hiring of her cocaine-busted aide, who was previously charged in connection with a shooting.

House Minority Leader Bradley Jones and Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr are demanding that Healey disclose the recommendations and support that LaMar Cook received before being hired in 2023 as deputy director of the Western Massachusetts office in Springfield.

The North Reading and Gloucester Republicans are also calling for a “complete and thorough review” of vetting procedures within the executive branch to identify and correct potential deficiencies in the hiring process.

Jones and Tarr say Cook’s drug and firearms charges are “troubling” and that they raise “serious questions” around the effectiveness of the Healey administration’s vetting practices. Cook was hired in 2023.

“These steps are essential to restoring the public’s trust and to help ensure that all future hires are held to the highest ethical standards,” the Republicans wrote in a letter to Healey on Wednesday.

State Police last week intercepted about 18 pounds of cocaine on the way to the Springfield State Office Building, where Cook worked in the governor’s office. A trooper posed as a UPS driver to deliver the cocaine to the office.

In addition to the Springfield cocaine shipment, authorities said they had seized about 46 pounds of cocaine across separate shipments during the investigation into Cook.

Cook has been deemed a danger to the community and is being held without bail on charges that he was trafficking 200 grams or more of cocaine and unlawfully possessing a firearm and ammunition.

In the wake of the bombshell arrest, reports emerged that this wasn’t the first time that Cook had been arrested. Cook, 45, was previously busted in connection with a shooting in Springfield as a 21-year-old in 2001.

“Any one of these charges would have been sufficient grounds for disqualifying Mr. Cook as a viable candidate for serving in a government position, yet he was hired anyway, despite your assertions that he ‘underwent a thorough background check,’ ” the Republicans wrote to Healey.

Cook had been paid $96,564 this year, according to state payroll records. His annual salary was $115,968.

Jones and Tarr’s letter to Healey comes as Republican gubernatorial candidates are also calling on the governor to release the full background check for Cook.

GOP candidates Brian Shortsleeve, Mike Kennealy and Mike Minogue are pushing for the governor’s office to release all the personnel files, performance reviews and incident logs involving Cook since his hiring. They’re also looking for an independent investigation.

The Herald has filed a public records request for Cook’s background check with the governor’s office and the State Police.

Healey, asked about what happened regarding the Cook case on GBH’s Boston Public Radio, said, “We don’t know all the circumstances. The DA is investigating.”

“I will tell you this,” the governor said during her Wednesday radio appearance. “This is one of our employees who works out of our Springfield office. I was shocked, and I was so angry. It’s a huge betrayal of trust … for those of us who work hard in government and the people of Springfield, frankly.”

“As soon as I learned of it,” she added, “he was terminated before he even was arraigned.”

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