After receiving his doctorate, Teller became a professional staff member for the
Committee on House Administration under
Rep. Bill Thomas of California. In 2001, he became
legislative director for the Republican Study Committee, later rising to deputy director and executive director of it. In 2010, a
Washington Post profile called Teller "one of the most influential conservative aides in Congress." In 2014, Teller joined the Board of Advisors of the
National Federation of Republican Assemblies. He is a member of the
Council for National Policy.
2011 U.S. debt crisis controversy Teller was involved in controversy during the
2011 U.S. debt ceiling crisis when, in July 2011, he and his subordinates reportedly emailed several conservative groups to urge the groups to lobby against a plan put forward by
Speaker of the House John Boehner of Ohio. While it was reported that members chanted "fire him, fire him" to Paul Teller during the closed door meeting, reports later came out showing the situation was embellished and exaggerated by the media, while others claimed it never had happened at all.
2013 firing On December 11, 2013, it was reported that Teller had been fired by RSC Chairman
Steve Scalise of Louisiana for undermining Scalise and others because Teller believed they were not acting with ideological purity; angering some conservative leaders.
Chief of Staff for Ted Cruz In early 2014, Senator Ted Cruz hired Paul Teller to be his deputy chief of staff. On September 10, 2014, Cruz announced that Teller would succeed
Chip Roy of Texas, who was stepping down as chief of staff to become senior advisor for Cruz's political operations. ==Trump administration==