Gregory G. Katsas

Gregory G. Katsas
Official portrait, 2008
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Assumed office
December 8, 2017
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byJanice Rogers Brown
Deputy White House Counsel
In office
January 20, 2017 – December 8, 2017
PresidentDonald Trump
LeaderDon McGahn
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
In office
July 2008 – January 20, 2009
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byPeter Keisler
Succeeded byTony West
Acting United States Associate Attorney General
In office
June 22, 2007 – April 2008
PresidentGeorge W. Bush
Preceded byWilliam W. Mercer (acting)
Succeeded byKevin J. O'Connor
Personal details
Born (1964-08-06) August 6, 1964 (age 59)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
SpouseSimone Mele
EducationPrinceton University (BA)
Harvard University (JD)

Gregory George Katsas (born August 6, 1964) is a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[1]

Early life and education[edit]

Katsas was born in 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts. His parents were Greek immigrants.[2] Katsas graduated from Princeton University in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he was an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review and an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy.[3][4][5] He graduated in 1989 with a Juris Doctor, cum laude.

Legal career[edit]

After law school, Katsas served as a law clerk to Judge Edward R. Becker of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1989 to 1990. From 1990 to 1991, Katsas clerked for Clarence Thomas, who was then a judge of the District of Columbia Circuit. After Thomas's appointment to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1991, Katsas again clerked for him from 1991 to 1992.[6][5]

Katsas then entered private practice at the Washington, D.C. office of the law firm Jones Day, where he specialized in civil and appellate litigation.[7] He argued more than 75 appeals, including three cases in the U.S. Supreme Court.[5] He was at Jones Day from 1992 to 2001, becoming a partner in 1999.[6]

From 2001 to 2009, Katsas served in various positions within the United States Department of Justice, including Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and Acting Associate Attorney General.[5] Katsas returned to Jones Day from 2009 to 2017. From January to December 2017, Katsas served as Deputy White House Counsel.

Federal judicial service[edit]

On September 7, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Katsas to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to the seat vacated by Judge Janice Rogers Brown, who retired on August 31, 2017.[8][9]

On October 17, 2017, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[10] On November 9, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 vote.[11][12]

On November 27, 2017, the United States Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 52–48 vote.[13] On November 28, 2017, by a party line vote except for John Neely Kennedy R-LA[14] and Joe Manchin D-WV, with Bob Corker and John McCain absent, Katsas was confirmed by a 50–48 vote.[15] He received his judicial commission on December 8, 2017.[16]

In 2017, Katsas recused himself from matters regarding the Mueller probe on which he personally worked, but said he would consider the facts of a case before making a decision.[17]

On September 9, 2020, President Trump included him on a list of his potential nominees to the Supreme Court.[18]

On July 6, 2021, Judge Katsas gave the tie-breaking 2-1 vote that overturned the FDA's ban on GEDs used predominantly by the Judge Rotenberg Center on disabled patients in Canton, MA.[19]

Memberships[edit]

He is a member of the Federalist Society,[20] and also a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers.[6]

Awards[edit]

In 2009, he was awarded the Edmund Randolph award for outstanding service, the highest award bestowed by the U.S. Department of Justice.[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Karuppur, Abhiram (March 7, 2017). "Katsas '86 named Deputy Counsel and Deputy Assistant to President Trump". Daily Princetonian. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  2. ^ Profile of Gregory Katsas. VettingRoom.com. Retrieved November 17, 2017.
  3. ^ "About". Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. March 24, 2009. Retrieved April 3, 2018.
  4. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Gregory George Katsas
  5. ^ a b c d "President Donald J. Trump Announces Seventh Wave of Judicial Candidates". whitehouse.gov. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017 – via National Archives. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  6. ^ a b c d Severino, Carrie (September 7, 2017). "Who is Gregory Katsas?". National Review. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  7. ^ "Gregory Katsas to rejoin Jones Day". Jones Day. October 2009. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  8. ^ "Eight Nominations Sent to the Senate Today". whitehouse.gov. September 7, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2017 – via National Archives.
  9. ^ Marimow, Ann E. (September 7, 2017). "Trump taps White House legal adviser to serve on high-profile D.C. Circuit". Washington Post. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  10. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for October 17, 2017
  11. ^ Results of Executive Business Meeting – November 9, 2017, Senate Judiciary Committee
  12. ^ Schneier, Cogan (November 7, 2017). "More Than 200 Civil Rights Groups Oppose DC Circuit Nominee Greg Katsas". Law.com. Retrieved November 18, 2017.
  13. ^ On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture Gregory G. Katsas, of Virginia, to be United States Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit), United States Senate, November 27, 2017
  14. ^ "Louisiana GOP Sen. Kennedy opposes controversial Trump judicial nominee". Politico. November 28, 2017.
  15. ^ On the Nomination (Confirmation Gregory G. Katsas, of Virginia, to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the District of Columbia Circuit), United States Senate, November 28, 2017. Retrieved April 2, 2020.
  16. ^ Gregory G. Katsas at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
  17. ^ Allan Smith (October 18, 2017). "One of Trump's top judicial nominees got grilled on Capitol Hill over his involvement with Mueller's Russia probe". BusinessInsider.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  18. ^ "Remarks by President Trump on Judicial Appointments"
  19. ^ Pierson, Brendan (July 7, 2021). "D.C. Circuit overturns FDA ban on shock device for disabled students". Reuters.
  20. ^ "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees" (PDF). judiciary.senate.gov. Retrieved June 30, 2018.

External links[edit]

Legal offices
Preceded by United States Associate Attorney General
Acting

2007–2008
Succeeded by
Preceded by United States Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division
2008–2009
Succeeded by
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
2017–present
Incumbent