Donald Trump names Noel Francisco for solicitor general post

President Trump has announced his intention to nominate six officials to his administration, including appellate lawyer Noel J. Francisco for the Justice Department’s solicitor general.

Mr. Francisco has served as principal deputy solicitor general since Jan. 23, and previously worked as associate counsel to former President George W. Bush. Solicitor general is the administration’s chief lawyer in cases before the Supreme Court.

A former law clerk to the late Justice Antonin Scalia, Mr. Francisco was a partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Jones Day, where he chaired the firm’s government regulation practice. He has appeared several times in cases before the Supreme Court, including in Zubik v. Burwell, which involved the Religious Freedom Restoration Act’s application to regulations requiring insurance coverage for contraception; and NLRB v. Noel Canning, which involved unconstitutional recess appointments by then-President Barack Obama.

In his current role as principal deputy solicitor, Mr. Francisco removed himself from some cases to avoid potential conflicts with his old firm, and wasn’t able to argue on behalf of the administration’s immigration vetting order before a federal appeals court last month.

Among the other Jones Day lawyers who have joined the Trump administration is Don McGahn, the White House counsel.

Mr. Trump also has nominated Courtney Simmons Elwood for general counsel of the CIA. She currently works with Kellogg, Hansen, Todd, Figel & Frederick, and served as a law clerk for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist on the Supreme Court. Ms. Simmons Elwood also worked for the Bush administration as associate counsel from 2001 to 2007.

“Ms. Elwood understands the CIA’s mission and critical role of the rule of law in achieving that mission,” CIA Director Mike Pompeo said in a statement. “The warriors at CIA look forward to her joining in our mission to be the premier espionage agency in the world.”

The president nominated John J. Sullivan for general counsel at the Defense Department. Mr. Sullivan has held senior posts at the Justice, Defense and Commerce departments prior to working at Mayer Brown’s Washington office.

Jeffrey Rosen was nominated by the president for deputy secretary of the Transportation Department. Currently a senior partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP, Mr. Rosen also served as general counsel and senior policy adviser for the Office of Management and Budget from 2006 to 2009 in the George W. Bush administration, and also worked as general counseling the Transportation Department.

The president also nominated Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit V. Pai to another term. And he selected Tony E. Sayegh Jr. was selected for assistant secretary for public affairs at the Treasury Department.