Schweich began his public service career in 1999, when he was named Chief of Staff for former U.S. Senator John Danforth's investigation of the federal government's actions in connection with the 1993 FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas; a siege which resulted in the deaths of over 80 people, including 23 children. The investigation concluded that the Davidians died as a result of a suicide pact, but it also uncovered numerous instances of negligent conduct in the way that the federal government conducted the siege.