After the firm moved to Washington, D.C., in early 1822, Meehan began editing and publishing the Baptist weekly newspaper The Columbian Star.

Leaving the Star in late 1825, Meehan nominally purchased the City of Washington Gazette on direction from Andrew Jackson's presidential campaign, renaming the paper the United States' Telegraph and taking an immensely partisan stance.

Following a purge of numerous incumbent officials in the aftermath of Jackson's 1828 election, Meehan was appointed as librarian of Congress via the spoils system and with Green's urging, replacing the staunch anti-Jacksonian George Watterston.

Meehan and Pearce oversaw the reconstruction of the library after the disaster, restocking it with substantial purchases of books and rebuilding the main hall.

The election of Abraham Lincoln in 1860 prompted Meehan's removal in 1861 in favor of Indiana physician John Gould Stephenson.

Leaving service in April 1815, he moved to Philadelphia and declined an offered commission in the Marine Corps to focus on his printing career.

In February 1822, soon after moving to Washington, Anderson & Meehan also began publishing The Columbian Star, self-described as an apolitical Baptist weekly newspaper.

Six months later Meehan left the paper, seeking not to associate the largely apolitical Star with his entry into political writing.

[3] Following his narrow loss in a House contingent election after the 1824 presidential election, Tennessee senator Andrew Jackson and his former running mate John C. Calhoun sought a supportive newspaper in Washington, D.C.[6] The Jackson campaign indirectly purchased Jonathan Elliot's City of Washington Gazette through allies William B. Lewis and John Eaton.

From the outset, the paper was immensely partisan, strongly opposed to the election of President John Quincy Adams and the appointment of Secretary of State Henry Clay.

Although Meehan was recognized for his strong anti-Adams advocacy through the Telegraph, the ownership of the paper grew uncomfortable with his perceived inability to mount an effective response against the administration.

Green soon left to travel the country, and Meehan continued serving as the de facto chief editor of the paper for several months.

During this period, Meehan clashed with the pro-administration press on several issues, including Adams' alleged purchase of a billiards table and the military significance of Jackson's victory in the Battle of New Orleans.

While working as Green's publisher, Meehan additionally served as the secretary of the board of trustees of the Baptist Columbian College.

[17][18] Upon Jackson's election in 1828, the incoming administration began a mass shift of government positions in favor of supportive Democrats via the spoils system.

[18] Biographer Christian Nappo described the letter as significantly embellishing Meehan's scholarly capabilities and his appointment itself as "purely an act of political patronage".

[21] I am much at a loss to find the terms to express to you the solicitude which I feel on behalf of Mr. Meehan ... My personal acquaintance with him commenced in the spring of 1826, when I found him the Editor of the Telegraph.

[19] The New-England Palladium condemned Watterston's removal but conceded that Meehan was ultimately "an amiable and respectable man" and preferable to other possible Jacksonian candidates.

[20] He repeatedly and unsuccessfully attempted to reclaim the position for the rest of his life, through what biographer John McDonough described as a mix of "cajolery, threats, and flattery".

[27] He wrote in irritation at the conditions within the library, describing the various maintenance tasks needed to restore damaged books, clean shelves, and remove bookworms.

Maryland Senator James Pearce was appointed chairman of the Joint Committee in 1845, beginning a long-running period of close collaboration between him and Meehan.

National Intelligencer coverage in the mid-1830s attributed the Library's holdings to various members of the committee, briefly praising Meehan for his "civility and attention" to visitors.

[28][33][34] Journalist Anne Royall rebuked him for his purchasing habits, claiming he had failed to "anticipate the research needs of legislators or scholars" and criticizing the acquisition of numerous books intended for Sunday school students.

"[37] Due to his reputation as a skilled businessman, Meehan was tasked by Congress to manage and book-keep what biographer John McDonough labeled a "bewildering variety of special funds" in addition to his duties within the library.

[38]In 1840, French ventriloquist and actor Alexandre Vattemare received federal support for his proposed government document exchange system between the United States and France.

His purchasing efforts were criticized by an anonymous two-part National Intelligencer article (sometimes attributed to Smithsonian librarian Charles Coffin Jewett) stating that an agent should have been sent overseas to purchase books and that the Library of Congress should have attempted to become "a systematic collection of books chosen with competent bibliographic learning for a specific and well-defined purpose".

[45][46] Meehan rebuked the anonymous author, writing that such efforts would place "Congress in a position which admits that they cannot select the books they need.

[47][48] Congressman and educational reformer Horace Mann submitted a resolution to the committee shortly before his congressional retirement in March 1853, calling for the library to accept any of the lost books if offered at a cheaper price than other sellers.

[51] Following the election of Abraham Lincoln and the ensuing secession of the southern states in late 1860 and early 1861, Meehan's position became increasingly unstable.

A December 1861 report commissioned by Stephenson (possibly written by Spofford) noted large numbers of uncleaned, miscataloged, and misplaced books.