(Bloomberg) -- President Joe Biden named veteran congressional aide Shuwanza Goff as his director of legislative affairs, making her the first Black woman to serve as the White House’s top liaison with Capitol Hill.

Goff was previously the deputy to Louisa Terrell, who announced earlier this month her plans to depart after helping shepherd through a slate of key priorities, from the bipartisan infrastructure bill and Democrats’ prescription drug and climate change legislation to a deal to avert breaching the debt ceiling.

Goff’s task will be protecting those legislative gains as the White House seeks to navigate what is expected to be a contentious autumn, with Republicans eager to seek concessions in a fight over government funding. Lawmakers are also considering a bill to reauthorize the Federal Aviation Administration, while the Senate has been gripped with a series of ongoing confirmation battles.

Goff, 38, has a strong relationship with Republican lawmakers, including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Before entering the administration. she worked as the floor director for Steny Hoyer, the Maryland Democrat who for decades served in House Democratic leadership. She has spent the last several months in the private sector. 

“Shuwanza is a proven leader and trusted voice on both sides of the aisle,” Biden said Monday in a statement. “She returns to the White House with strong relationships across both chambers, forged over more than a decade on Capitol Hill.”

At the White House, Goff helped secure the confirmation of Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson and worked on infrastructure, gun, and semiconductor legislation.

Goff’s selection to lead the White House’s legislative efforts was first reported by the Associated Press.

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