Congressional staffer profile: Jeff Emerson has worked both sides of the aisle

Hometown: Rome, Ga.

Alma Mater: University of Alabama

Age: 48

Washington Examiner: What did you study?

Emerson: Journalism. I always wanted to be a reporter since I was a little kid. In third grade when we had career day and you’re supposed to come dressed as what you wanted to be when you grew up, so while a lot of kids came dressed as doctors or soldiers, I came in a tie and a rumpled sports coat and fedora with a little card on it that said “press.” A lot of the other kids didn’t get it.

Washington Examiner: Where did you work as a reporter?

Emerson: I did an internship with the Rome News-Tribune. I loved it, and they asked me to come back the next summer as a staff writer. The following year I got the business beat, which I didn’t like. I went from being able to cover all sorts of different stuff to just covering one thing. It wasn’t as fun. In my senior year of college, I began to think that maybe I didn’t want to be a reporter.

One day I was watching C-SPAN, and I noticed, sitting behind the congressmen, were these young people whispering in the members’ ears. I thought ‘That might be kind of interesting.’ I called my local member of Congress and asked if I could do an internship with him, and that eventually led me here. My congressman was a guy named George “Buddy” Darden. I was a caseworker, then later a legislative assistant and then finally the press secretary.

Washington Examiner: Was it as fun as you had hoped it would be?

Emerson: Yes. It allowed me unite my interest in journalism with politics in a way that I didn’t have to be a journalist. It was a great job, and Congressman Darden was – and still is – a great man. I was a Republican working for a Democrat. They never asked me if I was a Republican. The staff and the congressman did figure it out eventually. ‘Hey, this kid kind of sounds like he is a Republican.’ (Laughs)

Washington Examiner: Did that present any problems being a press secretary?

Emerson: Well, my job was to represent him and to put his message out. Was it a challenge at times for me personally? Yeah, a little bit. But Congressman Darden was an outstanding person, Republican or Democrat.

I lost my job in 1994 because my congressman was defeated. … I came back to the hill in 1997 to be the press secretary for Rep. Spencer Bachus, R-Ala. … The congressman and I eventually worked out an arrangement where I could live in Birmingham and work in his district office as district director and still be press secretary.

Washington Examiner: Was it difficult being a congressman’s press secretary and not living in Washington?

Emerson: It depends on the member. If you work for a member who wants national exposure, then that might be one thing. If you work for a member of Congress who really wants to focus on the hometown newspaper and the hometown TV stations, then it makes a lot of sense to have your press secretary that close so they can build a better relationship with local reporters.

I left Bachus’ office in 2002. I felt like I had done it all as far as Congress goes. I remember driving down the road and hearing a report on the radio that the Alabama governor’s press secretary was resigning. I pulled over, got out the cellphone and starting calling folks to see what my chances were for getting that job. I got to be there for roughly seven years. I then got a call out of the blue in 2010 asking me to come to work on this committee. The Republicans had retaken control of the House, and Bachus was going to be chairman.

Washington Examiner: So what’s a typical day at work on the committee like?

Emerson: One reason that I like this job so much is that it is not always the same. I work with Chairman [Jeb] Hensarling, but I work with my counterparts in 33 different Republican committee members’ offices.

Washington Examiner: Do you need special knowledge to be press secretary for the Financial Services Committee?

Emerson: It helps to know a little bit more about financial regulation and how banking works. When I first got this job, I didn’t know a lot about it. So it was a little learn by doing. We also have some very knowledgeable staffers, so you listen and ask questions. They’re teaching me new things every day.

Washington Examiner: What does the future hold for you? Do you ever intend to get into politics yourself?

Emerson: No, I enjoy working in politics and with reporters. The only thing I have planned is that eventually I am going back to live in Alabama.