One to Watch: Rachel Jag

06/30/2021

Rachel Jag (’17)

Legislative Correspondent for Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-Kan.)

As a law student, Rachel Jag got involved in public service by serving as a PILG Auction chair and then as an intern with the Republican National Committee.

After graduating, she knew wanted to continue down that path but didn’t have an immediate way forward.

She worked at a law firm briefly before joining the office of Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt (’00). There she was involved in litigation, and though she enjoyed the experience, litigation “just wasn’t my jam; I wanted to use my writing and all the other stuff I learned in law school: reading the law, having policy debates, going that route,” she said.

One day she was contacted by a fellow SLU LAW alumna who worked for the National Republican Senatorial Committee and was looking for Election Day legal volunteers for a campaign in Topeka.

“It was because I met somebody that day and reconnected with them a few weeks later that I ended up getting hired by Rep. LaTurner’s office,” she said.

Once in D.C. she had a bumpy start: Her second day of work, Jan. 6, was the day of the Capitol riot, during which she and her fellow Hill staffers had to barricade inside the office for several hours, and then that night they found out their congressman had tested positive for COVID-19. But besides the initial chaos, Jag’s found the silver lining of moving to the capital during the pandemic.

It’s a cooperative mentality, and I gained a lot of those qualities from being a SLU LAW student."

Jag

“I’ve been Missouri born and raised, but I knew I loved D.C. and have always had the draw,” she said. “It’s a blessing that I’m getting adjusted to living halfway across the country and to a whole new type of job while things are shut down because it gives me time to get on my feet.”

In her role, Jag uses her legal skills by researching bills and drafting letters, and she sees a parallel with her time in law school.

“SLU is a community where everyone is supportive. The value of community really helps in my world. Working with a team here and trying to represent another community on the Hill, you try to think — how can you serve the team? How can you serve the congressman? And how can you help him serve his people? It’s a cooperative mentality, and I gained a lot of those qualities from being a SLU LAW student.

“I’m happy to go down a nontraditional path with my law degree,” she continued. “I love the movement here and I love Capitol Hill. I think the sky’s the limit. As long as they’ll have me, I’ll be here.”

— By Maria Tsikalas