Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legislative Affiars, Carlos Felipe Uriarte speaks at Law School (Alan Knight | Student Life)

Carlos Felipe Uriarte, assistant attorney general of the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA) under Merrick Garland and alum from the Class of 2002, spoke at Washington University School of Law regarding his education and his role in the federal government, Feb. 26. 

Uriarte was raised in a household where legal conversation was not commonplace, he said. Through his education at the University, he learned more about the legal space, which led him to get his law degree from the University of Pennsylvania. During his time at Washington University, Uriarte helped found the Annika Rodriguez Scholars Program and developed his interdisciplinary approach to law, which he further cultivated in law school and during his clerkship under the judge Juan R. Sánchez.

Eventually Uriate ended up working at the Office of Legislative Affairs (OLA), which  plays an integral part in mediating interactions between Congress, the Senate, and the DOJ, according to Uriarte.

“The Office of Legislative Affairs is responsible for managing the relationship between Congress and the Department of Justice across all the department’s components,” Uriarte said. “That means me and my team are responsible for helping champion the legislative priorities of the Attorney General across Capitol Hill.”

The OLA achieves this objective by monitoring Congress and the Senate’s access, also known as oversight, to investigations conducted by the DOJ and preparing cases presented at Congressional depositions.

“We also have to manage all of the congressional oversight requests that come into the department, including conducting internal investigations, producing documents to the Hill, responding to and defending transcript interviews and depositions, as well as preparing all of our witnesses to go up and testify in front of Congress,” Uriarte said.

Uriarte said that he and his team at the OLA are also heavily involved in policy, such as reauthorizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Section 702. The information collected through this act comprises approximately 70% of the intelligence briefed to the president according to Uriarte, making it a major priority for his office.

Uriarte said that part of his job is aiding in separating apolitical investigations from the larger political system that the DOJ belongs to.

“It really is helping to translate between two very different worlds and two groups of people who have sort of grown-up or come through the government in very different ways,” Uriarte said.

He said that this task is difficult amidst the political tension in the current House and Senate, as more representatives and senators are calling for investigations and oversight into these investigations.

Despite the emphasized political divide in Congress, Uriarte said that behind closed doors, constructive conversations are extending beyond party lines.

“The Attorney General regularly has members of Congress over to the DOJ to have coffee and lunch. And there are just as many Republicans including the House members who accept our invitation for our Democrats. In those conversations, we were able to focus on so many areas of common interest,” Uriarte said.

The DOJ holds a unique place in the federal government since it can actively work with governmental representatives from different sides of the aisle by providing technical assistance. This role allows it to create a rapport, which it leverages to help build consensus on significant political issues, according to Uriarte.

Under the current Attorney General, Merrick Garland, the DOJ has focused on debriefing in the mornings so issues can be resolved quickly and effectively, Uriarte said. 

“There’s a certain excitement about the ability to affect positive change frankly almost real-time,” Uriarte said. “That makes the work incredibly rewarding.”

Approximately 50 people attended the conversation. However, Uriarte interacted with many undergraduate and graduate students through other events. On Feb. 25, Uriarte had breakfast with the Rodriguez Scholars and spoke to law students and pre-law undergraduates about pursuing careers in government. On Feb. 27, Uriarte had breakfast with first-generation law school students.

Uriarte’s visit was sponsored by the Gephardt Institution, the College of Arts & Science, and the Department of American Studies, which was the department Uriarte majored in during his time at WashU.

Peter Kastor, the mediator of the conversation with Uriarte and Uriarte’s former professor, said that he was excited to be part of this event, especially as someone who has seen Uriarte throughout his career.

“This is the kind of moment that brings such joy to all faculty. It’s wonderful to follow the success of former students and see them reconnect with the university,” Kastor said. “He was an exceptional individual when he was an undergraduate, and his rise in government makes perfect sense given both his talent and his hard work.”

First-year Supria Ajjampore, who took Freedom, Citizenship, and the Making of American Culture with Professor Kastor, said she attended Uriarte’s talk at the law school to learn more about pursuing a career in the legal space.

“I’m looking for a career in law in the future so I was interested in attending,” Ajjampore said.

Stephanie Kurtzman said she hopes that events such as Uriarte’s visit to WashU can show students that they can instigate change in their communities irrespective of what career path they take.

“We were really thrilled to co-sponsor because we’re educating students to be agents of change,” Kurtzman said. “Bringing alumni like Carlos Uriarte, we hope can help students envision their future and imagine what’s possible for how they can affect change and how they can be a part of the civic environment in whatever career or social impact area they choose.”

Uriarte said that building a career like his does not require knowing everything about your path forward. 

Even during his time in law school, he said that he did not consider going into government and pursued internships that didn’t necessarily lead to his role today. As the son of Salvadorian and Ecuadorian immigrants who grew up in a predominantly white community in eastern Washington, Uriarte questioned whether he could even have a place in government.

“I grew up with, frankly, some shame for my background and a lot of questions about what I could really accomplish, particularly in Washington DC — in the halls of power — and whether or not I would ever be accepted in such a place,” he said.

Uriarte said that those questions still lingered when started his career in Congress.

“I would regularly question whether or not I was following the rules,” Uriarte said. “Being the only person in the room who was a person of color or the only LGBT person around a particular table, you [often] ask those questions of yourself.”

Uriarte said that he was nervous about his first meeting with the Attorney General, so much so that he sat in the back of the room, but soon learned to make room for himself.

“Someone came over to me and said there’s only like six people in this meeting,” he said. “‘You really can’t sit back here, you have to come to the table.’ And it was both embarrassing, but also kind of humbling at the same time, and I realized that I did belong and I should learn from that but also embrace the opportunity to make space for myself even in those hallowed halls.”