Jacky Rosen, NV
Linked statement
“I am thanking my longtime staff member McKenna LeVitt as she leaves my office. She started as an intern and rose to become my lead adviser on public lands, energy, and Tribal issues. She did great work for Nevada, and I wish her the best.”
“Mr. President, I rise today to honor and thank my constituent and longtime staffer McKenna LeVitt for her many years of service to the U.S. Senate and to the people of Nevada. McKenna has been a key member of my team since my first year in the Senate, joining my office as part of our first intern class and then returning to work for me in a full-time role after she graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. Over time, she proved herself to be an incredibly dedicated and talented staffer, rising quickly from staff assistant to legislative correspondent to legislative correspondence manager to legislative aide to legislative assistant and finally becoming our lead policy adviser for all energy, environment, public lands, water, agriculture, and Tribal issues. In this role, McKenna has led my office’s work on numerous public lands bills, multi-year legislative efforts that are critical to the landscape, economic development, safety, preservation, and accessibility of the land in our State. She has shepherded the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act through Congress, one of the most significant pieces of legislation directly impacting northern Nevada in recent history. In introducing, negotiating, and working to amend this bill, McKenna has taken many hundreds of meetings and put in thousands of hours of work, collaborating with county and city officials, Tribes, the State of Nevada, conservationists, sportsmen, recreationalists, ranchers, landholders, housing developers, utilities, and others. She has taken public feedback, working parcel-by-parcel on changes and working across the aisle and with members of both the House and Senate and with committee staff to move this bill forward. Its future success in this Chamber will be due in very large part to her, and I am confident that we will get the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act across the finish line thanks to her hard work on it these past many years. She has also played a leading role in working with my national security team to obtain fair compensation for ranchers impacted by the modernization of Naval Air Station Fallon, helped draft and introduce dozens of bills and amendments, secured millions of dollars in critical funding for Nevada through appropriations, and taken what can conservatively be estimated to be over a thousand meetings with Nevadans. Whenever McKenna wasn’t at her desk, we knew it meant she was in a meeting talking with Nevadans about how we could help them. It is her personal touch in these interactions that sets her apart, not only coming prepared with policy knowledge and ready to answer any question that comes her way, but also listening with empathy and fully adopting the challenges of her fellow Nevadans as her own. As a colleague, McKenna is beloved, someone whom everyone on my team in both Nevada and DC considers a person they can trust. She has been there for people when they need her, just as she has been there for the State of Nevada. McKenna has a steady hand and an analytical mind, but also a heart of gold. McKenna, I thank you for your service to Nevada and the country, and I look forward to seeing you grow and excel as you move back home to Reno and begin a new life with Ken. We will miss you, but your impact will be felt forever.”
Mr. President, I rise today to honor and thank my constituent and longtime staffer McKenna LeVitt for her many years of service to the U.S. Senate and to the people of Nevada. McKenna has been a key member of my team since my first year in the Senate, joining my office as part of our first intern class and then returning to work for me in a full-time role after she graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno. Over time, she proved herself to be an incredibly dedicated and talented staffer, rising quickly from staff assistant to legislative correspondent to legislative correspondence manager to legislative aide to legislative assistant and finally becoming our lead policy adviser for all energy, environment, public lands, water, agriculture, and Tribal issues. In this role, McKenna has led my office’s work on numerous public lands bills, multi-year legislative efforts that are critical to the landscape, economic development, safety, preservation, and accessibility of the land in our State. She has shepherded the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act through Congress, one of the most significant pieces of legislation directly impacting northern Nevada in recent history. In introducing, negotiating, and working to amend this bill, McKenna has taken many hundreds of meetings and put in thousands of hours of work, collaborating with county and city officials, Tribes, the State of Nevada, conservationists, sportsmen, recreationalists, ranchers, landholders, housing developers, utilities, and others. She has taken public feedback, working parcel-by-parcel on changes and working across the aisle and with members of both the House and Senate and with committee staff to move this bill forward. Its future success in this Chamber will be due in very large part to her, and I am confident that we will get the Truckee Meadows Public Lands Management Act across the finish line thanks to her hard work on it these past many years. She has also played a leading role in working with my national security team to obtain fair compensation for ranchers impacted by the modernization of Naval Air Station Fallon, helped draft and introduce dozens of bills and amendments, secured millions of dollars in critical funding for Nevada through appropriations, and taken what can conservatively be estimated to be over a thousand meetings with Nevadans. Whenever McKenna wasn’t at her desk, we knew it meant she was in a meeting talking with Nevadans about how we could help them. It is her personal touch in these interactions that sets her apart, not only coming prepared with policy knowledge and ready to answer any question that comes her way, but also listening with empathy and fully adopting the challenges of her fellow Nevadans as her own. As a colleague, McKenna is beloved, someone whom everyone on my team in both Nevada and DC considers a person they can trust. She has been there for people when they need her, just as she has been there for the State of Nevada. McKenna has a steady hand and an analytical mind, but also a heart of gold. McKenna, I thank you for your service to Nevada and the country, and I look forward to seeing you grow and excel as you move back home to Reno and begin a new life with Ken. We will miss you, but your impact will be felt forever.