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Lauren O’Brien, Legislative Director for Senator Todd Young (R-IN)
Top image: Lauren O’Brien speaking to members of the Greater Louisville Inc. Chamber during their annual D.C. fly-in
Q: Let’s pretend LinkedIn didn’t exist (of course, we are glad it does). Was your dream always to work on Capitol Hill? How did you find your way to Senator Young’s office?
A: I was always interested in politics and government, and then participating in the Washington Semester Program at American University during my junior year of college solidified my desire to move to D.C. when I graduated. I stacked my remaining classes and left college a semester early to start the job hunt.
The advice I was given then is still the same advice I give to students today — if you can swing it, intern on the Hill while you job hunt. Representative James Sensenbrenner’s office was kind enough to give me a home to do just that. An informational interview with a House chief of staff led me to a staff assistant job interview with then-freshman Representative Geoff Davis (R-KY) that I was lucky to land despite limited ties to the state. After eight years working my way up to deputy chief of staff in the office, Rep. Davis retired. After that, I spent a number of years in government affairs, but I always wanted to come back at some point to learn more about Congress from a different vantage point. When the legislative director position opened up with Senator Young in early 2020, it was a great fit since I graduated from Saint Mary’s College in South Bend, Indiana.
Q: Senator Young is a member of the Senate AI Caucus and a true leader around this technology and its impact both currently and as we look to the future. It’s not an overstatement to say the country has never experienced this kind of revolution before. You must have had to learn so much so quickly — basically a graduate degree in quantum computing — how have you done that? Are there any resources or books you have found particularly useful?
A: When Senator Young decided to join the Bipartisan Senate AI Working Group in 2023, we embarked on a crash course in all things AI. That included lots of meetings with stakeholders, learning more about what our leading research universities in Indiana were working on in this space, and a fact-finding staff trip to Silicon Valley to tour the Lawrence Livermore National Lab and meet with the top AI companies. It was fascinating and helped to form the basis for organizing the AI Insight Forums, which then led to the group’s Roadmap for AI Policy in the U.S. Senate.
Q: Is there a piece of legislation that Senator Young has brought over the finish line that you are particularly proud of?
A: We’ve been lucky to land a number of big policy wins over the years thanks to Sen. Young’s focus on building bipartisan coalitions, which are essential to getting almost anything done in the Senate. The biggest so far during my time in the office would be the CHIPS and Science Act, which was signed into law in 2022. It took years and had many twists and turns along the way, but we managed to get it done in the end. So far, the law has helped bring in over $450 billion in private sector commitments to invest in our domestic semiconductor industry, including in Indiana.
Q: It has been said on more than one occasion by several gals who have held the legislative director (LD) position in the U.S. Senate that it’s the best job they have ever had. Obviously, it is your current post, so some days may not feel like it. But what do you love about your job? There also seem to be true friendships across the aisle between legislative directors — has that been your experience?
A: I couldn’t agree more. Having served as a legislative director in the House as well, the Senate LD position is a very different job that I frankly enjoy more than the House version of it. Typically, Senate LDs don’t have their own issues, which frees you up to be a better and more available manager of the policy team. I view my role as ensuring Senator Young’s policy priorities are being advanced on a daily and weekly basis. Our legislative team is one of the best on the Hill, so I like for legislative assistants to do their thing, and then I help out as needed, whether it is advice on big picture strategy, help prioritizing competing interests, identifying upcoming legislative vehicles, or ensuring we get a response on something time sensitive. LD-to-LD communication is a lifeblood in the Senate and helps to cut through the constant influx of requests and emails.
And since there are fewer of us, I think it is easier than in the House to get to know everyone and form connections. Senate LDs tend to stick around in their jobs longer, so that also contributes to the LD camaraderie.
Q: None of us are born experienced managers — any tips for managing staff at the beginning of their careers?
A: It has been fun to come back to the Hill after more experience to get another chance at managing congressional staff. As a quite young House LD, I barely knew how to do the legislative assistant (LA) job myself, so managing other LAs and legislative correspondents (LC) was sometimes a challenge. I’ve tried to take advantage of professional training opportunities provided by organizations like the Congressional Management Foundation and encourage everyone in our office to do the same. It also helps to lean on colleagues who have been doing the job longer to borrow helpful tactics and approaches to management, so I encourage legislative team members to meet with their peers in other offices.
I worked my way up from the bottom and did every legislative job along the way, so I think it helps that I can relate to the pros and cons of each position and try to share my perspective on how to make the most of it. If an LA or LC scores a win, that’s a win for me and Senator Young too, so my job is to make sure they have the expertise, tools, and guidance to succeed. For more junior staff, that might mean me spending more time explaining Senate process and the legislative history of an issue or sharing advice on how to handle difficult situations as they come up. Exposure to higher-profile job responsibilities and opportunities is also a big part of training junior staff. The earlier you can see how cool it is to work for a Senate office, the more enthusiastic you will be about the job (and the hours and the stress). For more senior staff, I try to serve as a sounding board for their ideas and strategy proposals.
Q: Let’s finish off with these. Favorite professional sports team?
A: Pittsburgh Steelers.
Q: Favorite TV show (can be a guilty pleasure)?
A: It is hard to beat Schitt’s Creek, but my guilty pleasures are Below Deck and Traitors.
Q: Favorite AI tool?
A: We’ve experimented with a number of uses in the office, from coming up with answers to obscure questions (ChatGPT agrees that Indiana is the top popcorn state!) to brainstorming name ideas for new bills. In a personal capacity, I love the photo prompts that will turn your dog into a human or people into Muppets.
Q: Best way to unwind after a long day in the Senate?
A: Taking our dog Marshall on a long walk around the Hill or off-leash at Congressional Cemetery.
