DOJ Restocks Congress Liaison Team as Republicans Circle (1)

The Justice Department’s staffed-up congressional-response team is working to strike a collaborative tone while girding for high-profile showdowns with the House Republican majority.

Carlos Uriarte, who heads DOJ’s Office of Legislative Affairs, has in recent months hired at least five congressional oversight veterans, including top Democratic staffers from the Senate Judiciary and House Oversight committees. The FBI, a primary target of House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), also is searching for a new congressional affairs chief.

The bolstered legislative affairs staff helped the department pass an initial test by submitting more than 400 pages of material last week—meeting Jordan’s ...