Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.) has two new hires in her Capitol Hill office and has promoted one staff member. Liz Muro is the Congresswoman’s new legislative assistant. She is in charge of immigration, education, judiciary, trade, housing and civil rights issues. Muro also serves as Solis’ liaison to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

[IMGCAP(1)]Before coming to Solis’ office, Muro was a staffer in the office of Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.). There, she started as a staff assistant and was promoted to the position of legislative correspondent/legislative assistant.

Muro is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association and the Connecticut State Society.

She is from Tustin, Calif., but she moved east for college, earning her bachelor’s degree from The George Washington University. Her father is a Teamster who served in the U.S. Navy during World War II, and her mother originally is from Guatemala.

Muro is joined by Claudia Montelongo, Solis’ new staff assistant. Montelongo’s responsibilities include answering phones, greeting visitors, sorting mail and faxes, arranging Capitol tours, hiring and supervising interns, drafting constituent correspondence and assisting other staff members with various projects.

“I’m very excited about working here,” the Austin, Texas, native said. “The Congresswoman is very active so I get to hear a lot about the things that she’s doing.”

Montelongo previously worked for the Justice Department’s Community Relations Service, where she was an administrative assistant.

She graduated from Pomona College in Claremont, Calif., with a major in international relations and a minor in Spanish. She is 23, and she had only good things to say about her boss.

“She works towards women’s rights, and she’s progressive. There are just so many things that I am interested in that she works on. I thought it was a good match,” Montelongo told Climbers.

Montelongo is a member of the Congressional Hispanic Staff Association and is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her extended family lives in Ventura County, Calif.

Montelongo’s predecessor, Laura de la Torre, has been promoted to scheduler.

In her new role, the 24-year-old from Los Angeles manages the Congresswoman’s schedule and handles new media and arts and humanities issues.

De la Torre earned her bachelor’s degree from New York University. She is excited about working with the Congresswoman.

“She’s very progressive and her district is progressive, so that makes my job a lot easier,” de la Torre said.

De la Torre’s brother, sister and an aunt live in Solis’ district, and she herself used to live right outside the district.

“It’s great to work with someone who knows her district so well, and so she can bring the concerns and raise issues that are important to her district in Congress,” de la Torre told Climbers.

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