On May 21, I had the opportunity to attend NORPAC’s mission to Washington DC.

This was an important one-day mission with a full agenda whose focus and sole purpose was a day of advocacy for Israel. Ideally, the entire Jewish and pro-Israel community should be attending annually, and with more than 1,100 people this year, I hope to see a second annual trip to split the crowd, bring in additional people, and enable us to meet with all of the members of Congress twice per year. There were approximately 300 scheduled meetings with members of the House and Senate including their aids. I had the privilege of leading a small group that met with three members of the House representing New Jersey, Oklahoma and Hawaii. I also had the opportunity of having a meeting at the White House with my friends and fellow Teaneck residents Karen and Eric Orgen.

Our White House meeting was with Paul Teller, Ph.D., whose official title is “Special Assistant to the President.” He works in the Office of Legislative Affairs and is one of 16 aides whose primary responsibilities are to advocate in the Senate and House for the President’s legislative agenda. He has handled legislation related to the President’s tax reform plan, which was successfully passed, and is now working on items including trade with China, immigration, and the border wall with Mexico. The best way I would describe his work is that he is a lobbyist, but his client is the President of the United States.

In 2010, in a profile in the Washington Post, Teller was described as a “staff member who can influence the thinking of lawmakers and the outcome of legislation,” by Mary Ann Akers. At that time, he worked for the Republican Study Committee, a caucus that includes many conservative members of Congress, which seeks to unify the party’s policy goals and foment them to action. He had previously worked for then-Rep. Mike Pence and continues to have a strong relationship with him.

Teller also shared some interesting details about his trip to Israel for the opening of the U.S. Embassy in Jerusalem; he traveled on the plane with a delegation of legislators, since he is the aide who works with them most directly, and was able to leverage the long flight as work time.

We also spoke about his background, and he described his previous work as Sen. Ted Cruz’s chief of staff and his current work, which also involves working with Vice President Mike Pence.

He shared interesting insights about the kinds of informal but important policy discussions that happen as part of his job. These meetings often occur on Air Force One, during a lunch in the White House Mess, or even over a game of bowling in the White House’s bowling alley. This was a great inside view of a day’s work behind-the-scenes.

It’s not always easy to take a day away from work, family, and our everyday responsibilities, but if the opportunity presents itself, I hope you will join me and other concerned citizens on a trip to Washington D.C. to advocate for a continuous strong U.S.-Israel relationship.

By Mark (Mendy) Schwartz, co-publisher, The Jewish Link of New Jersey