The Biden administration faces upcoming work with Congress to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration and pass appropriations bills in the coming weeks to fund the government for fiscal 2024.
Biden highlighted Goff’s deep connections with congressional lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.
“Shuwanza is a proven leader and trusted voice on both sides of the aisle,” Biden said in a statement that accompanied the announcement. “She returns to the White House with strong relationships across both Chambers, forged over more than a decade on Capitol Hill.”
As deputy director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, Goff led negotiations with congressional leaders on some of Biden’s signature legislation — including the American Rescue Plan, the bipartisan infrastructure bill, and the Chips and Science Act — and also assisted in the confirmation process of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Before joining the Biden administration in 2020, Goff was floor director for legislative operations under then-Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.), for whom she first started working in 2008. She also was the first African American woman to serve as floor director in the U.S. House.
In a statement, Hoyer congratulated his former aide on her new role.
“She has an unrivaled understanding of Floor procedure, Congressional politics, and the dynamics between the Legislative and Executive branches,” Hoyer wrote. “Over the years, she became a close friend and one of my most trusted advisors.”
Goff, Hoyer added, has “built and maintained” close relationships with congressional members and staffers of both parties.
“Even those with different politics respect Shuwanza for her trustworthiness and pragmatism,” Hoyer wrote. “I am eager to see all that she will accomplish in this important new position.”
When she left Congress to work for the White House in 2020, then-House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), who is now House speaker, paid tribute to Goff on the chamber’s floor.
“She has my respect because she earned it,” McCarthy said in the 2020 remarks of Goff then. “She has my friendship because she has earned it. She has the respect from both sides of the aisle because of the way she carries her life. The character of who she is.”
On Monday, Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Biden’s appointment of Goff is an “excellent choice.”
“Shuwanza is respected on both sides of the Capitol for her brilliance and knowledge of the legislative process,” Schumer said.
Goff departed her deputy position earlier this year to take a job with Cornerstone Government Affairs, a lobbying firm. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) also was among those who heralded her return to the Biden administration.
“Shuwanza Goff is a groundbreaking, dedicated and extraordinary public servant,” Jeffries said in a statement. “She was central to the success of the administration during the first half of President Biden’s term.”
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters Monday that Terrell, the outgoing director who first started working for Biden when he was in the Senate, will be missed.
“Since taking office, President Biden has relied on Louisa Terrell’s Tyrell leadership of the Office of Legislative Affairs, and she has consistently delivered for the American people,” Jean-Pierre said. “We will miss her dearly.”
