The CEL on “The Weekly” and “Staffer” Podcasts

Tuesday, August 12, 2025

Tom Wickham and Shuwanza Goff, two members of the Center for Effective Lawmaking’s (CEL) Board of Advisors, were recently featured on leading political podcasts, C-SPAN’s The Weekly and Staffer, offering their expert insights into the inner workings of Congress and public service.

Tom Wickham is the former Parliamentarian of the U.S. House of Representatives, and currently serves as Senior Vice President of state and local policy at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. On this episode of The Weekly podcast – in which he credits CEL as one of the groups that is helpful to his research into legislative trends – Wickham shares his five most memorable moments on the House floor:

• December 19, 1998. Wickham witnessed the first presidential impeachment to come to the House floor in 130 years. House Speaker nominee Bob Livingston made a surprise announcement that he would vote to impeach President Clinton but would also decline the speakership and resign from Congress the following year.
• September 29, 2008. In the midst of a presidential election and financial crisis, the House rejected the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) by a vote of 205-228. During one of many top-level bipartisan leadership meetings at the White House before the vote, Wickham recalls the Secretary of the Treasury falling to one knee in front of Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), begging Pelosi “not to blow up the deal.”
• January 23, 2007. At the State of the Union Address, President George W. Bush announced the election of Pelosi as the first female Speaker of the House.
• January 5, 2011. On the opening day of the 112th Congress, Speaker Pelosi stepped down as House Speaker and passed the gavel to Representative John Boehner (R-OH).
• January 25, 2012. Representative Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) resigned from Congress after being shot in the head during a constituent meeting in Tuscon, Arizona the year before. 

To listen to the full podcast, go here.

Shuwanza Goff, now Partner and Chief Strategy Officer at Empire Consulting Group, was the first Black woman to serve as Floor Director for the House of Representatives under the Majority Leader. She was also the first Black woman to lead any administration’s legislative team under the Biden-Harris administration, where she served as Assistant to the President and Director of Legislative Affairs. 

On this episode of Staffer, Goff shares how her experiences in the House helped her navigate challenging issues at the White House. Here are some of the key highlights from Goff’s career journey:

• In early 2024, Goff served as the principal liaison between the White House and Capitol Hill in securing the passage of a crucial Ukraine aid package. Her prior experience and unique relationships at Capitol Hill allowed her to understand members’ priorities and “bring the temperature down” in negotiations with the Hill to achieve satisfactory outcomes. 
• From a staff assistant on the Hill to the Head of Legislative Affairs at the White House, Goff learned to understand and appreciate the fundamentals of the job, especially in junior positions. To Goff, this is essential to building a foundation for long-term success as a staffer.
• As a woman of color, Goff had to prove herself and the effectiveness of her plans on the House floor to a room of mostly male and senior legislators. Her role as the Floor Director under the Majority Leader required her to work in a bipartisan manner and earned her recognition as a proven leader and trusted voice on both sides of the aisle.

 To listen to the full podcast, go here.

We are proud to have Wickham and Goff on our team and encourage everyone to listen to their conversations for a unique perspective on effective lawmaking in Congress.