He ultimately chose a career on the Hill, but it wasn’t always the plan. When his partner was admitted to George Washington University Law School, Landau took his last semester as an internship on the presidential campaign of then-Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) in 2008. Landau had planned to go to graduate school afterward, but he enjoyed working so much that he decided to put off school and continue working for Congressional offices.
Although he pursued politics instead of religion, Landau hasn’t abandoned his religious roots. He not only belongs to the Congressional Jewish Staffers Association, but he also serves as the hospitality coordinator for D.C. Minyan, a layman-led Jewish community in Dupont Circle.
Since arriving in Washington in the summer of 2007, Landau’s most memorable Hill moment came from his stint in Halvorson’s office. Even though he was a staff assistant, he proposed an amendment to include veterans in a scholarship bill that awarded money to specific groups. Halvorson not only accepted his drafted amendment but also let the staffer sit next to her on the House floor while she proposed the bill to Congress.
“I was sitting on the floor and there were bright lights, C-SPAN cameras, Members talking and this debate going on right in front of me,” he said. “It was a great experience being there, but it was even more meaningful that I was the lead on this amendment that they were talking about. And it ultimately became a template for the future.”
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