Trump Lawyer Dean John Sauer Confirmed as Solicitor General (1)

Dean John Sauer was confirmed as the Trump administration’s top lawyer at the US Supreme Court just as the justices face multiple appeals related to White House policies testing the bounds of presidential power.

The Republican-led Senate on Thursday confirmed Sauer as US solicitor general, 52-45, in a party line vote.

Sauer is a former federal prosecutor and Missouri solicitor general who successfully argued at the Supreme Court last year on behalf of Donald Trump in his bid for immunity from criminal prosecution related to the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol.

The conservative-led court wound up giving presidents sweeping criminal immunity that’s bolstered his second administration’s interpretation of expansive executive authority.

Sauer also was involved in other conservative battles that included student loan debt, Covid misinformation, and challenges to the 2020 election that Trump lost.

Trump has called him “a deeply accomplished, masterful appellate attorney.” Sauer called it an honor to represent Trump in “fighting back against the politically motivated prosecutions and lawfare campaigns against him.”

The Senate also confirmed another Trump lawyer, Harmeet Dhillon, as an assistant attorney general to head the Justice Department division responsible for battling discrimination and sticking up for voting rights. That vote for Civil Division chief was also 52-45, but Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) joined the chamber’s Democrats in voting no.

The San Francisco attorney is known for arguing conservative positions in cases involving religious liberty, treatment for transgender minors, and censorship on college campuses.

An adviser to Trump’s 2020 campaign, Dhillon defended him from efforts to remove him from state ballots for allegedly encouraging the Capitol riot. She also represented Trump against unsuccessful defamation lawsuits brought by adult film actress Stormy Daniels.

Supreme Court

Sauer takes over as solicitor general with a flood of litigation over Trump administration policies making its way through the courts.

The solicitor general’s office is already pursuing or defending multiple cases pending before the justices, including challenges to the administration’s bid to end birthright citizenship. The Trump administration also has asked the court to let it resume deporting alleged Venezuelan gang members without hearings, as well as for clearance to withhold teacher-training grants, and to permit the firing of thousands of workers at six federal agencies.

The former Antonin Scalia clerk raised eyebrows in two unusual Supreme Court filings on behalf of Trump before he retook office in January.

An amicus brief urged the justices to pause a law that could’ve effectively banned Tik Tok Inc. in the US. The court didn’t disturb it. Sauer also asked the court to halt Trump’s sentencing in his New York hush money case. That request was denied.

Legal experts said the timing and substance of the filings could impact Sauer’s standing before the justices once he takes the new job. The solicitor general is frequently called the Tenth Justice given how highly the court values the office’s view on resolving cases.

Sauer was Trump’s intended solicitor general pick at the time, and he wasn’t listed as an attorney for him in either case before they reached the Supreme Court.

At his confirmation hearing, Sauer expressed what he said was the importance of fidelity to the Constitution and the rule of law. He noted his clerkship with Scalia and the example set by the late justice that he said has served as a guidepost for his approach to legal analysis.

But he also wouldn’t commit to following federal court orders in all scenarios, fueling concerns among Democrats that Trump might choose to disregard decisions against his policies. Trump has railed against judges who’ve ruled against him, and some judges have called out the administration for not following their orders.

“Generally if there’s a direct court order that binds a federal or state official, they should follow it,” Sauer said, noting that the prospect of Trump ignoring a court order wasn’t a “plausible scenario.”