From Staff Assistant to Legislative Assistant
A.V. Whitney, legislative assistant in the office of Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), stepped into a new role in the New Jersey Democrat's personal office at the start of 2026, taking on the senator's agriculture and food and animals policy portfolio. After graduating from the University of California, Berkeley with a bachelor's degree in urban studies in 2020, Whitney joined Booker's office as a staff assistant that October and spent 3 years, from 2022 to 2025, as a legislative aide. Booker sits on the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee, and the portfolio Whitney now oversees is at the center of some of the most contested agricultural policy debates in Washington.
The Office They Help Run
The staff movement in Sen. booker's office comes as the New Jersey senator has assembled one of the more ambitious agriculture-focused legislative agendas among Senate Democrats in the 119th Congress. Whitney will be responsible for shepherding a wide range of bills touching on food safety, farm economics, animal policy, and rural infrastructure. As part of the broader Senate agriculture policy staff landscape, Whitney's work will be closely tied to the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee's hearing schedule — a body on which Booker holds a seat. The legislative assistant appointment also positions Whitney as a key point of contact for advocacy groups, industry stakeholders, and other Senate offices working on agricultural and animal policy — a role that will only grow in significance as farm bill reauthorization discussions continue to shape the broader legislative landscape.
Access the Legis1 platform for comprehensive political news, data, and insights.