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Biden taps second voting rights leader to join administration

K. Sabeel Rahman

K. Sabeel Rahman is the new senior counselor for the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs

Courtesy Demos
David Meyers
By David MeyersJan 27, 2021
David Meyers

David Meyers is the Executive Editor of The Fulcrum. Before launching The Fulcrum, David spent more than two decades at CQ Roll Call, a leading publisher of political news and information. During his time there, David served as managing editor of Roll Call (“the newspaper of Capitol Hill”) and as managing editor of member information and research, which included co-editing the definitive biographical directory of Congress, “Politics in America.” David went on to lead all of CQ Roll Call’s congressional research teams as vice president of research and content development before shifting to a revenue and strategy role as vice president of business operations for Roll Call, working with the advertising and editorial teams to develop new revenue models and expand the company’s events business. David lives in Fairfax, Va., with his wife, two daughters and rottweiler. A graduate of Tufts University, David is a past president of the Tufts University Alumni Association. He is also a past president of the Washington Press Club Foundation, which works to celebrate and advance the role of women and minorities in the media. David currently serves on the board of directors for Temple B’nai Shalom in Fairfax Station.

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Demos, a liberal think tank fighting racial inequality on the voting rights and economic fronts, is losing its president to the Biden administration.

K. Sabeel Rahman, who has led Demos for the past two and a half years, was named senior counselor at the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which falls within the Office of Management and Budget. The appointment, which Demos announced Tuesday, follows on the heels of Kristen Clarke's planned departure from the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law once confirmed as assistant attorney general for civil rights.

Under Rahman, Demos was involved in numerous voting rights lawsuits in the run-up to the 2020 election, including efforts to stop a questionable purging of the voter lists in Indiana, guarantee safety protections for Florida voters concerned about Covid-19 and protect the voting rights of Ohioans amid the changing primary calendar.

"While we at Demos will miss having Sabeel's leadership and vision, we are proud to share him with the nation. In his new position, he can play an even more powerful role in moving the U.S. toward the just and inclusive democracy and economy that Demos champions," board chairman Joshua Fryday wrote in an email announcing Rahman's departure.

Among other responsibilities, OIRA plays a central role in reviewing and coordinating regulatory actions taken by federal agencies.

Rahman has earned three degrees from Harvard and is an associate professor at Brooklyn Law School. Before joining Demos, he held fellowships at New America and the Roosevelt Institute, and he was a special advisor to the deputy mayor of New York for housing and economic development.

This will be a bit of a homecoming for Rahman, who worked as an analyst at OIRA for a year a decade ago, in the Obama administration.


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