Federal Position Descriptions
Print

Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs

Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, White House
Responsibility
Management Scope

The Office of Legislative Affairs has approximately 25 employees: three deputies (House, Senate inside), 0 special assistants typically, and three staff assistants. One to two people work in the Office of Legislative Correspondence.
The White House Office of Legislative Affairs will coordinate with the office of the vice president, which usually has a legislative affairs office with a director, a House person, a Senate person and one or two people to staff offices of the vice president on Capitol Hill.
Other offices in the White House, such as the National Security Council or Office of Management and Budget, will have legislative affairs personnel that have dotted line reporting with the White House Office of Legislative Affairs.5

Primary Responsibilities

• Serves as the president’s chief liaison to the House of Representatives and the Senate
• Promotes passage of president’s legislative initiatives
• Develops legislative strategy using the expertise of the chief of staff, policy councils and other White House offices
• Maintains relationships with the House and Senate
• Coordinates legislative initiatives of all departments and agencies
• Manages the confirmation process for presidential appointees6

Strategic Goals and Priorities
[Depends on the policy priorities of the administration.]
Requirements

• Strong congressional relationships (especially House and Senate leadership) and knowledge of House and Senate rules and process
• Is an effective legislative strategist with a good understanding of successful legislative negotiating techniques
• Has a grasp of public policy as well as political sensitivities7
• Confidence of the president
• Experience on the Hill or in a lobbying operation

Competencies

• The capacity to represent the president to the legislative branch, as well as represent the Congress to the president and understand the difference
• Understanding of, and respect for, the legislative branch but the understanding, also, that the president sets the agenda and key priorities
• Team player
• Honest and forthright
• Respected by the Hill8

Past Appointments
  • Amy Rosenbaum (2016 to 2017) – Policy Director, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi; Senior Advisor, Committee on Education and the Workforce9
  • Katie Beirne Fallon (2014 to 2016) – Staff Director, Senate Democratic Policy and Communications Center; Deputy Communications Director, White House; Legislative Director, Sen. Chuck Schumer
  • Miguel Rodriguez (2013 to 2014) – Special Assistant to the President, White House; Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of State; legislative director, Senator Hillary Clinton
AGENCY

Executive Office of the President

Mission: The Office of Legislative Affairs serves as the president's primary liaison to Congress and is responsible for advancing the president's legislative agenda on Capitol Hill.1

COMPENSATION

$172,200 in 20163

REPORTS TO

The President through the White House chief of staff4

Appointee Tracker

Check out our Political Appointee Tracker

Go to the tracker
Footnote
  1. https://www.whitehouse.gov/participate/internships/departments#OLA
  2. Romney Readiness Project position description
  3. https://www.whitehouse.gov/21stcenturygov/tools/salaries
  4. Romney Readiness Project position description
  5. Romney Readiness Project position description
  6. Romney Readiness Project position description
  7. Romney Readiness Project position description
  8. Romney Readiness Project position description
  9. https://www.linkedin.com/in/amy-rosenbaum-40810a81 http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/195826-capitol-hill-vet-joins-wh-legislative-affairs-team
  10. https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2013/12/13/obama-taps-katie-beirne-fallon-to-repair-relations-with-congress/ http://www.politico.com/story/2013/12/white-house-new-legislative-affairs-director-101131 http://www.eagleton.rutgers.edu/events/images/BeirneFallon_Bio.pdf https://www.linkedin.com/in/katie-beirne-fallon-76837b4a?authType=NAME_SEARCH&authToken=PmFz&locale=en_US&trk=tyah&trkInfo=clickedVertical%3Amynetwork%2CclickedEntityId%3A174098816%2CauthType%3ANAME_SEARCH%2Cidx%3A1-1-1%2CtarId%3A1478631752302%2Ctas%3Akatie%20beirne%20
  11. https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/miguel-rodriguez-obamas-legislative-director-is-mostly-a-mystery-to-those-in-congress/2013/03/11/d8b2de7a-87ff-11e2-9d71-f0feafdd1394_story.html?tid=a_inl https://www.linkedin.com/in/miguel-rodriguez-501b3989
This position description was created with the help of Martha Kumar from the White House Transition Project, which provides information to a new White House staff about their individual offices thereby streamlining the process of transition from one administration to the next.
More federal position descriptions