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Elizabeth Prelogar

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Elizabeth Prelogar
Official portrait, 2021
48th Solicitor General of the United States
Incumbent
Assumed office
October 28, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byBrian Fletcher (acting)
Acting
January 20, 2021 – August 11, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJeff Wall (acting)
Succeeded byBrian Fletcher (acting)
Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States
In office
January 20, 2021 – October 28, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJeff Wall
Succeeded byBrian Fletcher
Personal details
Born (1980-03-07) March 7, 1980 (age 44)
Boise, Idaho, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic[1]
Spouse
Brandon Prelogar
​
(m. 2008)​
Children2
EducationEmory University (BA)
University of St Andrews (MLitt)
Harvard University (JD)
Elizabeth Prelogar's voice
Elizabeth Prelogar's opening statements to the Supreme Court in Biden v. Texas
Recorded April 26, 2022.[2]

Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar (born March 7, 1980; née Elizabeth Margaret Barchas)[3] is an American lawyer who has served as solicitor general of the United States since October 2021, making her the fourth highest ranking individual in the United States Department of Justice. Prior to this, she served as acting solicitor general from January 20, 2021,[4] at the start of the Biden administration, until President Joe Biden sent her nomination to the U.S. Senate on August 11, 2021.[5]

Early life and education

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Prelogar was born on March 7, 1980, as the youngest of four children to Jeanne Louise (née Bullock)[6] and Rudolph Daniel "Rudy" Barchas[3][7] and was raised in Boise, Idaho.[8] She has two older brothers and one older sister. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a teacher.[9]

She graduated from Boise High School in 1998.[10] After first taking college courses at Boise State University at the age of 12,[11] she attended Emory University, where she double majored in English and Russian and was a Fulbright Scholar. She graduated from Emory in 2002 with her B.A., summa cum laude.

During 2002 and 2003, Prelogar studied creative writing at the University of St Andrews, receiving an M.Litt. with distinction.[12] She then attended Harvard Law School, where she was an articles editor for the Harvard Law Review and a finalist in the Ames Moot Court Competition.[13][14] Prelogar graduated with her J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard in 2008.[15][16]

Prelogar is fluent in Russian.[17] While at Harvard, she won an Overseas Press Club scholarship to study Russian media and censorship.[18][19]

Career

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After graduating from law school, Prelogar spent three years as a law clerk. She first worked for judge Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2008 to 2009, then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg from 2009 to 2010, and then finally for Supreme Court justice Elena Kagan from 2010 to 2011. She then entered private practice as an associate at Hogan Lovells in Washington, D.C. She taught a course at Harvard Law School on Supreme Court and appellate advocacy.[20] She also performed in a mock trial with Brett Kavanaugh and Ketanji Brown Jackson in 2016 prior to their appointments to the Supreme Court.[1]

From 2014 to 2019, Prelogar was an assistant to the solicitor general. She was briefly detailed to the special counsel investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. In 2020, she joined the Washington D.C. office of Cooley LLP as a partner.[21] She was named principal deputy solicitor general by President Joe Biden in January 2021 and served as acting solicitor general.[22]

Solicitor general

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On August 10, 2021, President Biden nominated Prelogar to the office of solicitor general.[20][23] Her nomination was sent to the Senate that same day.[24] Her nomination was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee,[25] which approved it by a vote of 13–9.[26]She was prevented from serving while the nomination was before the Senate as a result of the terms of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.[27]

On October 28, 2021, the Senate confirmed Prelogar as solicitor general by a vote of 53–36,[28] making her the second woman to hold the position after Elena Kagan, who later became a Supreme Court Justice.[29][30] She was sworn into office later on that day.[31]

Personal life

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She married Brandon Prelogar in 2008, and they have two sons together. Prelogar was Miss Idaho Teen USA in 1998, Miss Idaho USA in 2001,[32] and Miss Idaho in 2004.[33][34] Prelogar donated to the Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign and Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Fouriezos, Nick (April 17, 2019). "The Next Robert Mueller... or a Liberal Brett Kavanaugh?". ozy.com. Archived from the original on December 15, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2021.
  2. ^ SCOTUS Staff (April 26, 2022). Oral Argument—Audio / Biden v. Texas / Docket Number: 21-954 (excerpt, official audio). SupremeCourt.gov. Event occurs at 0:08-2:12. Archived from the original on February 12, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  3. ^ a b Prelogar, Elizabeth Barchas (2021). "Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees" (primary source (PDF)). Judiciary.Senate.gov. Washington, DC: United States Senate, Committee on the Juciciary. Archived (PDF) from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  4. ^ DOJ Staff. "Office of the Solicitor General / Meet the Acting Solicitor General". Justice.gov. Archived from the original on January 21, 2021. Retrieved August 13, 2021.
  5. ^ WH Staff (August 11, 2021). "President Biden Nominates Elizabeth Prelogar for Solicitor General". Whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved September 15, 2021.
  6. ^ "Rudolf Barchas Obituary (1943 - 2019) - Boise, ID - Idaho Statesman". Legacy.com.
  7. ^ Antioch College (2019). "Rudolph "Rudy" D. Barchas '66" (secondary source). Obituary. Yellow Springs, Ohio. Retrieved October 5, 2023.
  8. ^ "Work-Life Imbalance: Pandemic Disruption Places New Stresses on Women Lawyers". www.americanbar.org. Archived from the original on January 22, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  9. ^ "Supreme Advocate".
  10. ^ "Where Are They Now? Elizabeth Prelogar (formerly Elizabeth Barchas, 1998 graduate of Boise High) to serve temporarily as the top U.S. Supreme Court advocate for the Biden..." spotonidaho.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2021. Retrieved July 22, 2021.
  11. ^ Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman, "Born in Boise, raised in Idaho, this 'prolific' woman is Biden's solicitor general pick" August 19, 2021
  12. ^ "Solicitor General: Elizabeth B. Prelogar". www.justice.gov. May 6, 2022. Archived from the original on March 29, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  13. ^ "Members". American Law Institute. Archived from the original on March 2, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  14. ^ "Resume". Archived from the original on March 14, 2023. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  15. ^ Smith, Kelundra (August 13, 2021). "Emory alumna nominated as solicitor general | Emory University | Atlanta GA". news.emory.edu. Archived from the original on August 14, 2022. Retrieved March 2, 2023.
  16. ^ Perkins, Christine (February 19, 2021). "More Harvard Law Faculty and Alumni Tapped to Serve in the Biden Administration". Harvard Law Today. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021. [complete text appearing] Elizabeth Prelogar '08 was named principal deputy solicitor general of the U.S.. Department of Justice. She was previously a partner at Cooley in Washington, D.C., where she focused on Supreme Court and appellate litigation, and she was a former assistant to the U.S. solicitor general. Prelogar was also a legal adviser in the special counsel probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Last fall, she taught the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Workshop at HLS.
  17. ^ Gerstein, Josh (August 10, 2021). "Biden selects Elizabeth Prelogar to be solicitor general". Politico. Archived from the original on March 12, 2022. Retrieved March 12, 2022.
  18. ^ Siskind, Amy (March 27, 2018). The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year (1st American ed.). New York, NY: Bloomsbury. p. 172. ISBN 9781635572711.
  19. ^ "Mueller Recruits Another Lawyer from Solicitor General's Office to Russia Probe". Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  20. ^ a b Madhanai, Aamer (August 11, 2021). "Biden Makes Selection for His Top Supreme Court Lawyer". U.S. News & World Report. Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021.
  21. ^ Scarcella, Mike (April 14, 2021). "Elizabeth Prelogar's $2M Cooley Compensation Shown in New Disclosure at DOJ". National Law Journal. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2021.
  22. ^ Coyle, Marcia; Barber, C. Ryan (January 19, 2021). "Cooley's Elizabeth Prelogar Will Return to DOJ Solicitor Office as Top Deputy". law.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  23. ^ "President Biden Nominates Elizabeth Prelogar for Solicitor General" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 11, 2021. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  24. ^ "Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 11, 2021. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  25. ^ "Solicitor General Nominee Elizabeth Prelogar May Be Heading For A Speedy Confirmation". NPR.org.
  26. ^ Raymond, Nate (October 7, 2021). "U.S. Senate panel advances Biden solicitor general pick Prelogar". Reuters. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021 – via www.reuters.com.
  27. ^ Robinson, Kimberly Strawbridge (August 13, 2021). "Solicitor General's Office Adjusts as Prelogar Steps Back". BloombergLaw.com. Archived from the original on October 9, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
  28. ^ Marimow, Ann E. (October 29, 2021). "Elizabeth Prelogar Confirmed as Solicitor General Ahead of Supreme Court Battles Over Abortion, Guns". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 28, 2021. Retrieved November 1, 2021.
  29. ^ "Elizabeth Prelogar Is Solicitor General of the United States". The American Law Institute. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  30. ^ Norwood, Candice (October 28, 2021). "Senate confirms second-ever woman solicitor general, who represents federal government before Supreme Court". The 19th. Archived from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved November 5, 2021.
  31. ^ DOJ Staff (March 2, 2014). "Office of the Solicitor General / Meet the Solicitor General / Elizabeth B. Prelogar". Justice.gov. Archived from the original on July 14, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2022.
  32. ^ "Meet Biden's Solicitor General Nominee Elizabeth Prelogar - Law360". Archived from the original on April 25, 2023. Retrieved April 25, 2023.
  33. ^ Chen, Vivia (June 20, 2017). "This Beauty Queen Turned DOJ Lawyer Could Mean Trouble for Trump". Law.com. Archived from the original on August 12, 2021. Retrieved January 31, 2021.
  34. ^ 108 Cong. Rec. E1636 (daily ed. Sept. 15, 2004) (statement of C.L. ‘‘Butch’’ Otter). Title of statement is "In Honor of Miss Idaho 2004 Archived February 28, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
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Legal offices
Preceded by
Jeff Wall
Acting
 Solicitor General of the United States
Acting
2021 		Succeeded by
Brian Fletcher
Acting
Preceded by Solicitor General of the United States
2021–present 		Incumbent
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