President Trump appointed Portland native Eric Ueland as his director of legislative affairs, bringing Ueland into a high profile position close to the president that makes him perhaps the most powerful Oregonian on Capitol Hill.
Ueland was previously a deputy assistant to Trump for domestic policy. His appointment was first reported by the news website Axios.
As legislative affairs director, Ueland will be the president’s top liaison to Congress and be charged with guiding his policy vision through a divided legislative branch.
The president had previously nominated Ueland to the No. 3 job at the State Department, a position called undersecretary of state for management, that would have made Ueland the day-to-day manager of one of the federal government’s most complex and consequential agencies.
It was not to be. Trump withdrew Ueland from Senate confirmation for reasons still unclear.
A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley told The Oregonian/OregonLive in 2018 that Ueland was not confirmed because members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee had “serious doubts” about Ueland’s abilities, but would not elaborate.
Ueland graduated from Central Catholic High School and grew up in Northeast Portland. He attended the University of San Francisco before heading to Capitol Hill.
Ueland rose through the ranks to become chief of staff to Bill Frist, then the Senate majority leader, and play a critical role in the impeachment trial of President Bill Clinton. He later served as a staff director for a Senate committee and was a member of the Trump transition team.
-- Gordon R. Friedman