Madison Smith

About Madison

Madison brings more than a decade of combined public and private sector political experience to the firm. At Cozen O’Connor Public Strategies, his practice focuses on a wide-range of issues, including emerging technology, trade, transportation, foreign affairs, tax, energy and financial services. Prior to joining the firm, Madison spent nearly three years as an in-house lobbyist for one of the world’s leading technology companies, where he was responsible for managing the company’s relationships with Senate Republicans.

Before making the jump to private practice, Madison spent nearly eight years combined on Capitol Hill in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. His service on behalf of three Texas lawmakers has made him a trusted adviser in the powerful Texas delegation.

In the U.S. Senate, Madison served in two concurrent capacities advising then-Majority Whip John Cornyn, the second-highest-ranking lawmaker in Senate Republican leadership. As Staff Director of the Senate Finance Committee’s Subcommittee on International Trade, Madison planned and executed a robust oversight agenda of the Executive Branch’s international trade policies, including the U.S.-China Phase I trade deal, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Free Trade Agreement (USMCA), and the Sec. 232 and 301 investigations.

Madison’s time working for the Senator also consisted of serving as the principal advisor on transportation, emerging technology and homeland security issues. He played a lead role in crafting more than six major pieces of legislation now signed into law, including a supplemental appropriations package for the State of Texas totaling more than $50 billion in the wake of Hurricane Harvey, a landmark bill (FIRRMA) to modernize the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), a bill to modernize U.S. ports of entry and increase cross-border commerce, and legislation to streamline the process by which veterans apply for Commercial Driver’s Licenses.

In the House of Representatives, Madison spent two years as a legislative advisor to former Congressman Will Hurd. Among other duties, Madison directed and oversaw the Congressman’s position as Chair of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Information Technology. His work and positioning of the IT Subcommittee, particularly as it relates to the transformational Technology Modernization Fund, which is now the principal method for addressing the U.S. government’s outdated IT infrastructure, led him to be selected by his peers as one of Federal Computer Weekly’s “Federal 100” in 2017. Madison’s work helped position Rep. Hurd as a national thought leader on a number of cybersecurity and emerging technology issues.

His Capitol Hill career began in 2012 when he served as an aide to Congressman Roger Williams. Prior to joining Rep. Williams’ team in Washington, he worked as a field representative for his congressional campaign.

Madison is a native of Austin, Texas and earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in communications from Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas.