Joint Center Commends Sen. Laphonza Butler for Hiring Marvin B. Figueroa as Chief of Staff

WASHINGTON — In response to Sen. Laphonza Butler (D-CA) hiring Marvin B. Figueroa as her chief of staff, the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies issued the following statement:

“The Joint Center commends Sen. Butler for hiring Marvin B. Figueroa, who identifies as Afro-Latino, as her chief of staff. With this hire, Sen. Butler demonstrates her understanding of the importance of tapping diverse top talent to help her serve California’s diverse constituents. Senator Butler’s hire comes shortly after our recent Senate report that shows that between 2020 and 2023, the overall percentage of personal office top staff of color increased from 11.0 % to 15.8 %, but the percentage of Black top staff decreased,” said  LaShonda Brenson, senior researcher who leads the Joint Center’s Hill Diversity research. “By hiring a highly qualified person of color in the top role in her Washington, DC personal office, Sen. Butler is centering inclusivity in decision making and diversity in policy debates.”

Figueroa most recently served as the director of the Office of Intergovernmental and External Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. He previously served as deputy secretary of Health and Human Resources for Gov. Ralph Northam (D-VA) and as a senior advisor to Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA). The Joint Center looks forward to working with Figueroa in his new role.

With the addition of Figueroa, Black staff account for eight (or 2.4 %) of the approximately 340 top senate staffers in Washington, DC who serve as chiefs of staff, legislative directors, communications directors or full committee staff directors (Black Americans account for over 13 percent of the U.S. population).