Casey Higgins

Casey Higgins is a fellow with BPC’s immigration project. She has nearly a decade of experience serving in the U.S. House of Representatives, most recently in the Office of the Speaker of the House Paul Ryan as Assistant to the Speaker for Policy and Trade Counsel. In that role, Casey was responsible for advising Speaker Ryan and the Republican leadership on matters under the purview of the Ways and Means, Judiciary, Homeland Security and House Administration committees. Her work focused on issues including trade negotiations and programs, immigration and border security, regulatory reform, intellectual property rights, state taxation, constitutional issues, the courts, the civil and criminal code, crime and terrorism, cybersecurity, transportation security, election law and campaign finance reform. Casey served as primary liaison to the Obama administration and, subsequently, the Trump administration, House and Senate leadership and committee offices, and key constituencies on and off Capitol Hill on behalf of the Speaker. She guided and coordinated committees of jurisdiction in developing and enacting legislation; developing and executing policy, communications and political strategies to advance the legislative objectives of the House Republican Conference; and identifying, organizing and leading external stakeholders in support of legislative initiatives.

Prior to her work in the Speaker’s office, Casey served as trade counsel to the House Committee on Ways and Means, during which time Congress enacted the Bipartisan Trade Priorities and Accountability Act (TPA), the Trade Facilitation and Trade Enforcement Act of 2015, the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 and the Trade Adjustment Assistance Reauthorization Act of 2015. Casey served as a liaison between the administration and members of the Ways and Means Committee, and consulted with businesses, associations and interest groups regarding trade negotiations and trade matters.

She began her Capitol Hill career while in law school, serving as a law clerk to the House Committee on the Budget. Casey also served as a law clerk to Federal Election Commission Commissioner Donald F. McGahn II, the Republican National Lawyers Association and a lobbying firm.