COLOMBIA – Two young South Carolina politicians began work this week on President Joe Biden’s new government after Wednesday’s inauguration.
Scott Harriford, a Columbia native and a former student at the University of South Carolina, was inducted on Wednesday as the new link between the White House and the Small Business Administration, a federal agency that provides support for entrepreneurs and small businesses. companies.
Paniz Rezaeerod, a native of Charleston, will be deputy director of Congress affairs for the United States Department of the Interior, responsible for overseeing federal land and natural resources in the country.
Both Harriford, 27, and Rezaeerod, 28, previously worked for former US deputy Joe Cunningham, D-Charleston – Harriford as a field representative and Rezaeerod as a legislative advisor dealing with environmental issues, including Cunningham’s effort to ban the offshore drilling.
Cunningham said South Carolina should be proud of them for their rapid rise in the federal government.
“Anyone who has ever come across these two is well aware of their enormous potential,” said Cunningham. “Paniz and Scott have already given a lot to our state and will now be representing us in the highest positions in the country. Their continued service is for the benefit of our country.”
Harriford also worked for Biden’s presidential campaign in South Carolina, where his overwhelming primary victory propelled him to the Democratic nomination. In the 2018 election cycle, Harriford worked on the campaign for South Carolina’s Democratic nominee for governor, James Smith.
Another former member of Biden’s campaign team in South Carolina, spokeswoman Paige Hill, is now working as senior director of regional communications at the White House press office.
Biden also recently chose former SC Democratic Party chairman Jaime Harrison, who unsuccessfully challenged U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham, RS.C., last year, to become the next chairman of the Democratic National Committee.
Follow Jamie Lovegrove on Twitter @jslovegrove.