Legislative Affairs Internship

The Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs (OLIA) is the principal advisor to the Under Secretary for International Trade, within the U.S. Department of Commerce, on matters pertaining to the U.S. Congress, congressional committees, individual Members of Congress, and state and local governments, and serves as the focal point within the International Trade Administration (ITA) for coordinating all activities involving legislative, congressional and intergovernmental relations.

This internship provides students an opportunity to work alongside seasoned staff to support and perform work on legislative programs, operations, and management of related legislative relationships and initiatives. Duties include:

• Establishing and maintaining a reliable network with U.S. Congressional Offices and Committees, including compiling and regularly updating lists of staff contacts
• Preparing correspondence for dissemination to Congress
• Performing analysis and review of bills and other legislative proposals
• Attending Congressional hearings and other relevant events, taking notes, and summarizing the proceedings for OLIA staff
• Assisting with the preparation of briefing papers and other written materials for events involving ITA principals
• Helping prepare ITA principals for Congressional testimony, including assisting in the drafting of hearing prep and the review of previous hearing transcripts
• Evaluating and advising on legislative operations structures, methods, and procedures to assist in developing metrics to measure OLIA output
• Other research, writing, and administrative tasks as assigned

Desired candidates will demonstrate personal motivation, resourcefulness, initiative, and professionalism. A relevant major (Political Science, Public Policy, Government and International Relations, Public Administration, Economics, Communications, etc.) is preferred but not required. Experience with Microsoft Excel and legislative research or policy analysis is a plus. Strong candidates will also possess problem-solving, networking, excellent written and public-speaking skills.

Requirements:
• U.S. Citizen
• Available in person, in D.C, for the entire Summer 2025 period (May 2025-August 2025; minimum 24-40hrs/wk).
• Currently enrolled student during the entire duration of the internship

This internship is unpaid but a travel stipend is provided and off-campus work-study and/or class credit can be applied.

Apply Today
Interested candidates please send your resume and cover letter to ITAlegislativeaffairs@trade.gov at your earliest opportunity or no later than May 5. Positions are filled on a rolling basis so recruitment might close before the deadline provided.