Congresswoman Waters Announces Twaun Samuel As New Chief Of Staff
Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) today announced the appointment of Twaun Samuel as her new Chief of Staff. Mr. Samuel has held several positions throughout his five years of service on Rep. Waters' staff, most recently as Senior Counsel and Legal Fellow/Intern Coordinator on the House Financial Services Committee, of which Waters is the Ranking Member. In Waters' personal office, Samuel served as Legal Fellow, Legislative Assistant and Legislative Counsel. As Legislative Counsel, Twaun managed Congresswoman Waters' Judiciary Committee portfolio, which included criminal justice, voting rights, intellectual property, copyright law, immigration, and telecommunications. Twaun also oversaw outreach to various national organizations and public interest groups in effort to advance Rep. Waters' public policy agenda, as well as her advocacy on behalf of women-and-minority-owned businesses. Congresswoman Waters issued the following statement upon her announcement:
He has a unique understanding of the constituent needs of the personal office and a formidable grasp of the legislative process and how policy is shaped in Congress. I'm confident that Twaun's work ethic and commitment to public service will help me tremendously as I continue my work on behalf of the people of the 43rd District of California."
As Rep. Waters' Legislative Counsel, Mr. Samuel managed the Congresswoman's vast portfolio of issues under the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, Competition, and the Internet. He completed all of Rep. Waters' filings before the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Department of Justice's (DOJ) review of Comcast Corporation's merger with NBC Universal. Following the merger's approval, he worked closely with Rep. Waters' in drafting her signature Federal Communications Commission (FCC) reform legislation, the FCC Merger Act of 2011. He also worked with Waters to draft amendments the Congresswoman offered to major bills such as the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the FCC Process Reform Act, and the America Invents Act – legislation that overhauled the U.S. patent system.
As Senior Counsel on the House Financial Services Committee under the leadership of Ranking Member Waters, Twaun managed the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee and coordinated Democratic messaging and amendment strategy during committee hearings and markups. In this capacity, Mr. Samuel covered issues regarding "Too Big to Fail" which included: systemic risk, the Financial Stability Oversight Council (FSOC), federal supervision and orderly resolution of systemic firms, and DOJ financial fraud investigations. Mr. Samuel also recruited, managed, and supervised interns and fellows under the committee's internship program. In addition, Twaun launched Ranking Member Waters' successful Financial Services Panel Series, a moderated public panel discussion between industry stakeholders, public interest advocates, and academics of opposing viewpoints on a range of issues and regulatory challenges facing the financial services industry.
Mr. Samuel holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in International Studies from the Croft Institute of International Studies (University of Mississippi) where he studied Political and Economic Transitions, with a regional focus in Latin America. Twaun completed a semester of studies at the Universidad Autonóma de Querétaro (UAQ) Mexico where he examined the nation's political history, all as Mexico was in the midst of its significant 2006 presidential election cycle. Following his studies at Croft, Twaun earned a J.D. from the University of Mississippi School of Law. Twaun is a 111th Congress John C. Stennis Center for Public Service Staff Fellow and 2009 Truman National Security Scholar.
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