Noel Francisco to step down as US solicitor general, sources say

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Hat tip, SCOTUSblog

Edith Roberts Editor

Posted Thu, June 11th, 2020 6:55 am

Thursday round-up

At CNN, Kaitlan Collins and others report that “US Solicitor General Noel Francisco is expected to resign from his role as the government’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court in the coming days.” For The New York Times, Katie Benner reports that “Mr. Francisco’s top deputy, Jeff Wall, will most likely step in as acting solicitor general as the White House searches for a replacement.”

{snip}

Noel Francisco to step down as US solicitor general, sources say
By Kaitlan Collins, Evan Perez and Joan Biskupic, CNN

Updated 9:50 PM ET, Wed June 10, 2020

(CNN) -- US Solicitor General Noel Francisco is expected to resign from his role as the government's top lawyer before the Supreme Court in the coming days, according to two sources familiar with the move.

Francisco, 50, has led the solicitor general's office since September 2017 and been a forceful advocate for President Donald Trump. The White House is not expected to immediately name a permanent successor. Instead, the principal deputy solicitor general, Jeff Wall, will most likely be tapped as the acting solicitor general.

Patrick Philbin, the deputy White House counsel, had previously been rumored as a frontrunner for the position, but apparently the succession plan is still in flux, two sources said.

The White House and Department of Justice did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

{snip}

[orwell]

1. More rats...

...leaving the Trumptanic.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. Maybe he was exhausted at having to shovel so much legal bullshit.

[49jim]

3. He grew up down the street

where I live. His mother still lives in there. I wonder why he is stepping down. Perhaps he had enough of arguing FOR the administration in front of the supreme court.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Solicitor General Noel Francisco announces departure from DOJ

Amy Howe Independent Contractor and Reporter

Posted Wed, June 17th, 2020 4:13 pm

Solicitor General Noel Francisco announces departure from DOJ

After just under three years (and three Supreme Court terms) on the job, Noel Francisco announced today that he would step down as the solicitor general of the United States, effective July 3, 2020. In a letter to President Donald Trump, Francisco wrote that he planned “to return to the private sector and spend more time with” his family.

In a statement, Attorney General William Barr described Francisco as a “principled and persuasive advocate” who “has represented the United States superbly before the Supreme Court for the past three Terms.” Barr said that he is “grateful” for Francisco’s “tireless service to his country and the Department of Justice, and I wish him well in his future endeavors.”

In his role as the federal government’s top lawyer before the Supreme Court, Francisco argued 17 cases there. He represented the Trump administration in several high-profile victories at the court, including its defense of the president’s September 2017 order – often known as the “travel ban” – restricting immigration to the United States from eight countries, most of which are predominantly Muslim; Janus v. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, in which the court ruled that government employees who are not represented by a union cannot be required to pay a fee to cover the union’s costs to negotiate a contract that applies to all employees; and Masterpiece Cakeshop v. Colorado Civil Rights Commission, in which the court ruled that a baker who refused on religious grounds to create a custom cake for a same-sex wedding celebration had been treated unfairly by a state agency. The administration was on the losing side in two major cases that Francisco argued: this week’s ruling that federal employment discrimination laws protect LGBT employees; and last year’s decision that blocked the government from including a question about citizenship on the 2020 census.

{snip}