How Louisa Terrell, Biden's legislative 'secret weapon,' charms Congress


You know what they say — behind every great infrastructure bill or American Rescue Plan is White House director of the office of legislative affairs, Louisa Terrell.
As President Biden's "congressional fixer and legislative guide," Terrell's tenuous job is to ensure proposals from the White House survive the journey from Congress "back to the president's desk to become law," writes The Guardian. But in such a "deeply divided political landscape," how does Terrell, Biden's "secret weapon," effectively navigate the congressional maze and come out the other side with a bipartisan deal?
"You gotta be realistic," Terrell told The Guardian. "There are places where there are synergies and there are places where we're just going to agree to disagree, so let's just look around in the backyard and see if there are some things that we can work on." She added, "There are lots of ways of engaging even if you're not trying to dig through a really hard policy issue."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Furthermore, Terrell makes sure her team appeals to the different wings and factions of each party, rather than lumping every Democrat and every Republican together. "When we're all talking together about what our approach is, we try to be kind of really personal and as specific as we can," she said. "And I think the same thing for Republicans. They don't just all bunch together."
Terrell also takes into account the length of tenure for each lawmaker, many of whom view her with a certain degree of respect given her proximity to the president. Sarah Bianchi, Biden's nominee for deputy trade representative, said that's how Terrell maintains her credibility. She added, a strong relationship with Biden "makes a big difference, particularly in that role."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
5 cultural trails to traverse by car
The Week Recommends Leave the hiking shoes at home
-
Could Iran's water crisis be the regime's tipping point?
Today's Big Question Drought is a problem. So is government mismanagement.
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
Trump revives K-12 Presidential Fitness Test
Speed Read The Obama administration phased the test out in 2012, replacing it with a program focused on overall health rather than standardized benchmarks
-
El Salvador scraps term limits, boosting Nayib Bukele
Speed Read New constitutional changes will allow presidents to seek reelection an indefinite number of times
-
Trump assigns tariffs, delays all except on Canada
Speed Read A 35% tariff on many Canadian goods has gone into effect
-
Harris rules out run for California governor
Speed Read The 2024 Democratic presidential nominee ended months of speculation about her plans for the contest
-
Trump sets new tariff rates as deadline nears
Speed Read New tariff rates for South Korea, Brazil and India announced
-
Ghislaine Maxwell: angling for a Trump pardon
Talking Point Convicted sex trafficker's testimony could shed new light on president's links to Jeffrey Epstein
-
Senate confirms Trump loyalist Bove to top court
Speed Read The president's former criminal defense lawyer was narrowly approved to earn a lifetime seat
-
Ghislaine Maxwell offers testimony for immunity
Speed Read The convicted sex trafficker offered to testify to Congress about her relationship with late boyfriend Jeffrey Epstein