Former Rep. Elaine Luria Named Georgetown Spring Fellow

WASHINGTON — Former Democratic Rep. Elaine Luria, of Virginia, will be a fellow at Georgetown University this spring, sharing her experiences as a member of the House Select Committee to Investigate the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol over eight weekly lectures.

In a tweet on Tuesday, Luria described her upcoming weekly sessions at the university’s Institute of Politics and Public Service as an opportunity to “help facilitate difficult conversations, cross party lines and share my experiences in politics.”

The title of her program is “Bipartisanship in a Post-January 6 World,” and it will touch on everything from the question of whether bipartisanship is still alive in the House to cooperation versus control in Congress, the work and inner workings of the Jan. 6 committee, and end with bipartisanship and its role in international affairs.

In addition to her work on the Jan. 6 committee, Luria served as the vice chair of the House Armed Services Committee and as a member of the House Committees on Homeland Security and Veterans’ Affairs during her two terms in Congress. 

In addition to her direct work for her constituents, the Navy veteran focused much of her time on increasing the defense budget to meet challenges in the Pacific, granting access to care for toxic exposed veterans through the PACT Act, and for securing funding for advanced nuclear technology. 

In a release, the university said while individual fellows have their own area of focus and expertise, “they are united in the common goal of working directly with Georgetown students to advance the common good, bolster our democratic institutions and lead with a service-oriented passion for a purpose larger than oneself.”

Over the course of the semester, the release said, members of the Georgetown community will have the opportunity to engage with the fellows in discussion groups and one-on-one, “pulling back the curtain and providing an all-access pass to the inner workings of the city.”

In addition to Luria, this year’s Spring 2023 Fellows are MJ Lee, senior White House correspondent, CNN; Michael Ricci, former director of communications for Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan and House Speaker Paul Ryan; Mike Shields, founder of Convergence Media and a former RNC chief of staff;  Chris Stirewalt, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute; and Jonae Wartel, a partner at Arc Initiatives, a public affairs and communications firm based in Washington, D.C. 

Dan can be reached at dan@thewellnews.com and @DanMcCue