‘Brutal’ DOJ Congressional Liaison Post to Get Filled by Biden

The White House is close to tapping Obama administration and Capitol Hill veteran Carlos Uriarte to fill one of Washington’s most thankless jobs: the Justice Department’s chief liaison with Capitol Hill.

Heading the DOJ’s Office of Legislative Affairs is considered a high-pressured, often soul-crushing job in any administration, as lawmakers invariably complain about unanswered oversight requests while some department leaders circumvent it by coordinating with Congress on their own.

“Under the best of circumstances, where OLA leadership is an integrated part of the leadership team of the department, it’s a brutal function,” said Robert Raben, president of the consulting firm The Raben Group, who led Legislative Affairs in the Clinton administration. “You are constantly saying no to your friends on the Hill, or cajoling division leaders in the department to accommodate requests that they think are inappropriate.”

Uriarte’s forthcoming nomination, which was confirmed by two sources close to his selection, comes after the Biden administration had to reset its search last year when their initial choice, who was serving as the office’s interim deputy leader, bowed out.

Carlos Uriarte (2nd from right) testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing August 5, 2015.

(Win McNamee/Getty Images)

The first pick, Helaine Greenfeld, a seasoned department official and Capitol Hill staffer, withdrew her nomination last year out of displeasure with the office’s operations just as she was poised to get confirmed by the Senate, according to five current and former DOJ employees.

Uriarte, an associate to Obama’s deputy attorney general from 2014-2017 and former chief investigations counsel on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, is awaiting clearance from the final stages of his White House vetting process, but is expected to get nominated in the coming weeks.

A White House spokesman declined to comment on Uriarte. Reached by email, Uriarte also declined to comment.

If confirmed by the Senate, he would arrive as Attorney General Merrick Garland faces pressure on the left and right about the pace of investigations of Capitol Hill insurrectionists and President Joe Biden’s son, Hunter. Running the Office of Legislative Affairs would only get tougher next year should Republicans take control of either chamber of Congress.

“The Office of Legislative Affairs is critical to the Department’s success and the Department will continue to rely on OLA’s experience and guidance in our work with Congress,” said Jennifer Donohue, a DOJ spokeswoman, in a prepared statement.

Sharing War Stories

The job requires a leader “with a thick skin and a sense of humor,” said Ronald Weich, who was assistant attorney general for legislative affairs under Obama and is now dean of the University of Baltimore School of Law.

The head of OLA is frequently deployed as a shield for DOJ officials and career prosecutors who are queried by Congress. Veterans of the position from both parties viewed their role as delivering to Capitol Hill a clear, consistent message about the department’s priorities, while protecting DOJ from congressional intrusion that could politicize their law enforcement mission.

Inherently, that can get ugly.

That’s one reason why past DOJ Legislative Affairs leaders from both parties periodically meet to share stories about being dressed down in the role or offer advice to new appointees.

Peter Kadzik, who ran the office in Obama’s second term, said he once entered a meeting with Attorney General Eric Holder and a senator “who quite frankly didn’t know who I was.”

“As we were walking into his office he started grumbling about Peter Kadzik,” said Kadzik, now a partner at Venable. “Then Eric said, ‘you might as well talk to him. He’s right next to me.’”

William Moschella, the assistant attorney general for OLA from 2003-2006, was even ridiculed on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart for exuding a “guilty face” sitting behind Attorney General John Ashcroft at a Senate hearing about Abu Ghraib prison torture.

Moschella, now a shareholder at Brownstein Farber Hyatt Schreck, said he jokes with fellow alums of the position that they’re the “chief javelin catcher.”

“It oftentimes boils down to the difficulties that arise from separations of powers issues,” Moschella added, “but they’re critically important to the Justice Department, the executive branch, and to the Congress.”

‘End Runs’

Internal DOJ dynamics can further complicate the legislative affairs role. Greenfeld withdrew herself from consideration and resigned in November from her temporary position due to mounting frustrations that Legislative Affairs was being undercut and micromanaged by other DOJ leaders, said the five current and former staffers, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive internal details.

The accumulating tensions reached a boiling point when Greenfeld learned Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco was preparing to testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee by conducting moot sessions without inviting Legislative Affairs, the five sources said.

Legislative Affairs’ stature within DOJ leadership has started to improve in more recent months with the arrival of Peter Hyun as acting director, three of the current and former DOJ sources said.

Such tensions aren’t unique to the current administration.

“Every AAG” of legislative affairs “would tell you they had to kind of establish their primacy in dealing with the Hill, but sometimes it’s inevitable that there will be end runs,” Weich said. “You do your best to get people to realize that there is a skill and an art to working in the legislative process and that’s what we’re there for.”

One current OLA official said the office is collaborating with other DOJ components consistent with past practice. The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity in an interview arranged by a department spokeswoman, said senior DOJ leaders are receptive to their opinions.

“Tension and stress can be high just by nature of the work and by nature of the demands that we have in our incoming,” the official added, noting that teamwork has helped overcome those challenges.

Working in the office can be tough but still enjoyable.

“I did it for about three years,” Weich said, “and it felt like 30, but I loved it.”