The U.S. Senate has confirmed Dean John Sauer as Solicitor General in a 52-45 vote, officially appointing him as the Trump administration’s chief legal advocate before the Supreme Court. Sauer, a former Missouri Solicitor General and federal prosecutor, assumes the influential role amid numerous cases tied to new White House policies, according to Bloomberg Law News.
Sauer brings an extensive legal background to the role. A former clerk for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, he also clerked for Judge J. Michael Luttig on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit. Professionally, Sauer has worked both in private practice and in government, including five years as a federal prosecutor and several years as Missouri’s Solicitor General beginning in 2017.
He has experience leading complex constitutional litigation and has served as lead counsel in both trial and appellate courts. Most notably, Sauer argued on behalf of President Donald Trump before the Supreme Court last year in the case involving presidential immunity, in which the justices ruled in favor of granting broad immunity for official acts of sitting presidents.
As Solicitor General, Sauer is now responsible for guiding the administration’s legal positions in several prominent upcoming cases. These include challenges related to birthright citizenship, fast-tracked deportation processes, and the firings of federal workers. The role is considered one of the most influential legal positions in the federal government due to the office’s close interaction with the Supreme Court.