Educated at Harvard Law School, Levin left his private law practice early in his career to serve as chair of the Michigan Civil Rights Commission before becoming president of the Detroit City Council and ultimately being elected to the US Senate for six full terms. To this day, Levin remains Michigan's longest-serving senator with numerous legislative achievements to show for his work, including 32 bills on matters big and small that became law. Levin's legislative accomplishments consist of several defense authorization and government ethics bills, to name but a few.
A staunch patriot who was known as the unofficial dean of the Senate's Jewish members, Levin exemplified the best of the American and Jewish traditions. He fought for civil rights, opposed the invasion of Iraq, investigated detainee abuse, supported the Iran deal, and tirelessly focused the resources of one of the most powerful bodies in Congress on investigating corporate malfeasance of the highest order. It is therefore no wonder that upon naming a naval ship after him, US secretary of the navy Ray Mabus stated "destroyers are named for heroes and Carl Levin is an American hero."
I had the privilege of working for Levin during his chairmanship of the legendary Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Although more commonly known as the subcommittee that Joe McCarthy used to terrorize leftists during the Red Scare, PSI has a storied history of using its broad subpoena power to go after the mafia, disability fraud, and other forms of genuine malfeasance. Under Levin's chairmanship, PSI focused its efforts on tirelessly documenting Wall Street mischief in the wake of the Great Recession.
As a young law clerk, I helped Levin and his staff document the manner in which Caterpillar, Inc. used Swiss affiliates to evade paying $2.4 billion in US taxes. Through a series of behind-the-scenes interviews, review of thousands of subpoenaed documents, and hours of grueling congressional testimony, Levin and his staff thoroughly demonstrated the illegal conduct of this great American company and admonished its leadership for engaging in unpatriotic conduct in front of the entire country.
Levin's characteristic rebukes were always fair and even-tempered. If it felt like he was the most reasonable person in the room, it was because he had put in the time and effort to learn the facts and reach a measured conclusion. He was innately decent, inspired the respect and admiration of his staff, and always used his power for good.
I feel lucky to have had the lion of Carl Levin as my first boss on Capitol Hill. He demonstrated to me that working in Congress was a viable career choice and in fact one that can be noble. His use of congressional investigations to shine a light on wrongdoing further inspired me to focus on congressional investigations, which led to my eventually serving as legislative director and counsel to the indefatigable Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz during the Michael Cohen hearing.
As modern Jews, we have no shortage of inspiring figures to look to for inspiration. However, Levin surely belongs in our pantheon of heroes for his persistent ability to harness the power of government to promote the good of all.
The writer served as legislative director and counsel to members of the US House of Representatives. He is a member of the bar of the US Supreme Court and worked for Levin in early 2014.