Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has found someone to replace her grandson as chief of staff in her personal office.
Twaun Samuel, a senior counsel to her on the House Financial Services, has taken over the gatekeeping duties in Waters' office. He replaces Mikael Moore, who stood out for also being the lawmaker's grandson. Moore left to work in the entertainment industry. His tenure was controversial, not only because of concerns about nepotism but also because the House Ethics Committee reprimanded him in 2012 for officially assisting a bank in which the congresswoman's husband owned hundreds of thousands of dollars in shares.
Samuel, who holds both bachelor's and law degrees from the University of Mississippi, has worked for the California Democrat since 2009, becoming legislative counsel following a brief internship. Having celebrated his 30th birthday in April, Samuel is one of the youngest chiefs of staff on Capitol Hill. The average age of a House chief of staff is 44, according to LegiStorm's biographical data.
While on the Financial Services Committee staff, Samuel covered a variety of banking issues, including Wall Street reform and systemic risk.
In addition to his work for the committee, Samuel also previously volunteered for the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, helping organize the organization's Annual Legislative Conference.
