[citation needed] He was a research assistant in the Natural Resources Law Center at the University of Colorado from 1991 to 1993.

[citation needed] He served as counsel to the United States Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee from[4] May 2001[6] until 2009.

[citation needed] He served as Commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), a position he held from 2009 until his appointment as Deputy Secretary.

[4] On July 31, 2013, President Obama nominated Connor to serve as Deputy Secretary of the Interior,[7] which was vacated by David Hayes who resigned at the end of June 2013.

[3][5][9] Following his resignation as Deputy Secretary of the Interior, he was appointed as an Environment Program Fellow at the Walton Family Foundation.