Now majority staff director, Cottle says working for Baucus has been a great experience: he “is a fantastic mentor ... great at letting staff come up with ideas and run with them.”
“Sen. Baucus is a fantastic mentor, and he has been great at letting staff come up with ideas and run with them,” Cottle said. “We were able to put together a lot of very good trade deals. We passed three free-trade agreements in 2010 that nobody thought we could do, but we worked hard with our counterparts across the aisle and in the House, and we were able to get those passed.”
Cottle said that those looking to work on Capitol Hill should not write off anything, saying that there are many paths to Capitol Hill, including working at federal agencies and even in the private sector.
The mother of two — boys ages 5 and 7 — added that not giving up is key when applying to in-demand jobs within the halls of Congress.
“I tried three times before I got hired by the Finance Committee,” Cottle said. “These are coveted jobs and are hard to get. Keep trying and work hard and show you can do the job.”
Send news of hires and promotions on Capitol Hill to climbers@rollcall.com.
Rep. Bill Cassidy has his blood drawn by Alesha Barbour during a free hepatitis screening in the Rayburn House Office Building hosted by the Congressional Viral Hepatitis Caucus to recognize "National Viral Hepatitis Testing Day."
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