Scope and Content Note
The papers of John A. Lawrence span the years 1974-2018, with the bulk of the material dating from 2005 to 2013. The collection primarily documents Lawrence’s eight years as chief of staff to United States Congresswoman, House Minority Leader, and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. The papers also include materials relating to Lawrence's tenure as chief of staff to United States Congressman George Miller III as well as interviews, research materials, and notes for Lawrence’s books. The collection is organized into eight series: Administrative and Subject File, Book File, Chief of Staff File, Email, Legislative Subject File, Meeting Notes, Scheduling File, and Closed.
During Lawrence’s tenure as Nancy Pelosi’s chief of staff, Pelosi was both House minority leader (2003-2007 and 2011-2019) and speaker of the House (2007-2011). The Lawrence papers relate primarily to these offices and to Pelosi’s leadership of the House of Representatives and in the Democratic Party. The collection includes both paper material, primarily notes, printed emails, and newspaper clippings, and digital files. These materials provide insight into legislation on topics such as the federal budget, debt ceiling, health care, and negotiations inherent in the legislative process. Topics relating to Pelosi’s district and the California office are not heavily represented. The collection’s digital files also include material from 1993 to 2005 relating to United States Congressman George Miller III, for whom Lawrence worked prior to Pelosi.
The collection’s series are listed and briefly described below. A fuller description of each series and a list of its contents can be accessed in the series descriptions within the container list.
The Administrative and Subject File series contains material created and maintained by Lawrence’s assistant, Declan Cashman, mostly relating to the functions and operation of Pelosi’s offices.
The Book File series contains research material in both paper and digital formats for The Class of ’74: Congress after Watergate and the Roots of Partisanship.
The Chief of Staff File is entirely digital and is composed of files primarily relating to Lawrence's day-to-day work as Nancy Pelosi's chief of staff and also includes files from Lawrence's previous position as George Miller's chief of staff.
Email consists of one email archive relating to Department of Defense funding received as part of the chief of staff digital files.
The Legislative Subject File series comprises files relating to policy, legislation, leadership, and other issues pertaining to Pelosi’s offices or of particular interest to Lawrence.
The Meeting Notes series contains over eighty notepads with Lawrence’s notes taken primarily during Pelosi’s meetings and phone calls.
The Scheduling File series is composed of printed emails concerning Lawrence’s schedule, mostly sent to his assistant, Declan Cashman.
The remaining series contains Closed materials.