Edelman also met his wife while touring impoverished areas of Mississippi with Kennedy to prepare for reauthorization of the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964.

[4] Following Kennedy's assassination, Edelman spent brief periods working as deputy director for Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, issues director for Arthur Goldberg's New York gubernatorial campaign, and vice president of the University of Massachusetts from 1972 to 1975.

[citation needed] Edelman took a leave of absence during Clinton's first term, to serve as counselor to HHS Secretary Donna Shalala and then as Assistant Secretary of Health and Human Services for Planning and Evaluation.

[citation needed] In late 1994, Clinton considered nominating Edelman to a seat on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit that had become vacant with the decision by Abner Mikva to retire from the bench on September 19, 1994, to become White House counsel.

However, Clinton feared a difficult confirmation battle, later successfully nominating Merrick Garland to the seat.

In 1995, Clinton mulled nominating Edelman to the federal district court in Washington D.C., but in August 1995, abandoned that possibility as well.