As chief of staff to House Assistant Democratic Leader James Clyburn (D-S.C.), Yelberton Watkins plays right-hand man to one of Congress’s most groundbreaking — and powerful — veteran lawmakers.
By extension, that makes Watkins one of Capitol Hill’s most influential veteran staffers.
The 59-year-old Watkins joined Clyburn’s office 30 years ago, rose almost immediately to the chief of staff position, and has remained in that spot as Clyburn rose through the ranks to become the most powerful Black lawmaker in Congress — a distinction eclipsed only this year with the ascendency of Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.).
In his role, Watkins has taken on a wide array of responsibilities, helping to guide political strategy, legislative policy, party messaging, media outreach and fundraising. In light of Clyburn’s outsized influence, The Root in 2010 characterized Watkins as “arguably the most powerful African-American staffer on the Hill.”
Since then, Clyburn’s stature has only grown following his crucial role in ushering President Biden into the White House in 2020. And Biden repaid the favor last year, pressing successfully for the Democratic National Committee to make the Palmetto State the first Democratic primary contest of the 2024 cycle.
That’s given Clyburn — and Watkins — new levels of influence even as Clyburn has assumed a less prominent leadership role in the new Congress.
Watkins, through it all, has retained a low-key profile. He declined to participate in this project.