Person

Hauwa Ahmed

Location:

Washington, D.C

Occupation:

Biden Administration Staffer

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Hauwa Ahmed is a legislative affairs associate in the Biden White House. 1 The Office of Legislative Affairs serves as the President’s primary liaison to Congress, working to advance the President’s legislative agenda. 2

Previously, she was a research assistant for the Center for American Progress (CAP),1 a progressive think tank focused on economic and social issues. 3 She was a Democracy and Government Reform team member and authored several articles and reports on issues related to left-of-center voting reform proposals. 1

Background and Education

Ahmed graduated with honors in 2016 from the University of Maryland with a bachelor’s degree in Government and Politics. While at the university, Ahmed participated in the Public Leadership Scholars Program, the WEB DuBois Honors Society, the Pi Sigma Alpha Political Science Honors Society and was a Rawlings Undergraduate Leadership Fellow. 1

Career

In January 2016 Ahmed was a legislative intern in the office of then-U.S. Representative Donna F. Edwards (D-MD). 1 Edwards was a left-progressive Democrat and the first African-American woman representing Maryland in the House of Representatives from 2008 to 2017. 4

In August 2016, Ahmed was an outreach intern in the Office of Presidential Correspondence, 1 which is responsible for reviewing mail, email, and parcels addressed to the President, and for coordinating responses on behalf of the Obama White House. 5

In March 2017 she was a policy research intern for the U.S Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, 1 the Senate’s primary oversight committee with broad jurisdiction over government operations and the Department of Homeland Security. 6

In June 2017 she joined the Center for American Progress (CAP)in Washington, D.C. as a special assistant to the president. 1 CAP is a progressive think tank promoting public policy research and advocacy focused on economic and social issues impacting the United States. 3 Specific areas of focus include racial equity issues, left-of-center economic policies, and climate change. 7

In 2019 she joined the Democracy and Government Reform team at CAP as a research associate. 1

In June 2021 Ahmed became a legislative affairs associate at the White House. 1 The Office of Legislative Affairs serves as the President’s primary liaison to the United States Congress, working to advance the President’s legislative agenda. 2

Publications

Ahmed’s report for CAP titled “How the Biden Administration Can Tackle America’s Voter Turnout Problem” attacked election integrity proposals as “voter suppression” and identified complicated voter registration requirements as a barrier to voting, especially for people of color. She advocates for a task force to investigate and address low voter turnout, as well as enacting the For the People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, two pieces of Democratic-sponsored legislation that would expand mail-in and other forms of voting and prevent states form passing election integrity laws. 8

Ahmed co-authored “Local Governments Can Lead on Vote by Mail,” encouraging local governments to mail absentee ballot applications to all eligible voters. 9

Ahmed’s article “Opposition to H.R. 1 Speaks Volumes” asserts that conservatives and Republicans opposed the For the People Act because they benefit from the forms of corruption the bill purports to address. 10

References

  1.  “Hauwa A. (she/her).” LinkedIn. Accessed March 17, 2022. https://www.linkedin.com/in/hauwa-a-6454b9113/
  2. “Presidential Departments Descriptions.” Accessed March 18, 2022. https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/participate/internships/departments#OLA
  3. “Center for American Progress.” Library of Congress web archive. Accessed March 17, 2022. https://www.loc.gov/item/lcwaN0012549/
  4. “Donna F. Edwards.” United States House of Representatives: History, Art & Archives – People Search. Accessed March 18, 2022. https://history.house.gov/People/Detail/12961
  5. “White House Office of Presidential Correspondence.” Everipedia. Accessed March 18, 2022. https://everipedia.org/White_House_Office_of_Presidential_Correspondence
  6. “Jurisdiction and Rules.” U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security & Governmental Affairs. Accessed March 18, 2022. https://www.hsgac.senate.gov/about/jurisdiction
  7. “Issues.” Center for American Progress. Accessed March 17, 2022. https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/
  8. Hauwa Ahmed. “How the Biden Administration Can Tackle America’s Voter Turnout Problem.” Center for American Progress – Issues – Voting Rights. March 16, 2021. Accessed March 18, 2022. https://www.americanprogress.org/topic/voting-rights/
  9. Alex Tausanovitch and Hauwa Ahmed. “Local Governments Can Lead on Vote by Mail.” Center for American Progress – Issues – Voting Rights. July 9, 2020. Accessed March 18, 2022.
  10. Haiwa Ahmed. “Opposition to H.R. 1 Speaks Volumes.” Morning Consult – Opinions. March 6, 2019. Accessed March 18, 2022. https://morningconsult.com/opinions/opposition-to-h-r-1-speaks-volumes/
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