Neomi Rao | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Portrait, 2018 | |
| Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit | |
| Assumed office March 18, 2019 | |
| Appointed by | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Brett Kavanaugh |
| Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs | |
| In office July 18, 2017 – March 18, 2019 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Howard Shelanski |
| Succeeded by | Paul J. Ray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Neomi Jehangir Rao March 22, 1973 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. |
| Spouse | Alan Lefkowitz |
| Education | Yale University (BA) University of Chicago (JD) |
Neomi Jehangir Rao (born March 22, 1973)[1] is an American jurist who serves as a federal appellate judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She was appointed by President Donald Trump in 2019, having served in the Trump Administration from 2017 to 2019 as Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs.[2]
Rao was born on March 22, 1973, in Detroit, Michigan. Her parents, Zerin and Jehangir Narioshang Rao, were Parsi physicians from India who had immigrated to the United States in 1972.[3] She grew up in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, and attended Detroit Country Day School, graduating in 1991.[4]
After high school, Rao studied ethics, politics & economics, and philosophy at Yale University, graduating in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude. From 1995 to 1996, Rao was a reporter for The Weekly Standard. She then attended the University of Chicago Law School, where she was a comment editor on the University of Chicago Law Review and executive editor of a symposium issue of the Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy. She graduated in 1999 with a Juris Doctor with highest honors and Order of the Coif membership.
After law school, Rao was a law clerk for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1999 to 2000. She was legal counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee from 2000 to 2001, then clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the U.S. Supreme Court from 2001 to 2002.[5]
In 2002, Rao entered private practice in London with the British law firm Clifford Chance, where she practiced public international law and arbitration. From 2005 to 2006, during the presidency of George W. Bush, Rao was an associate with the White House Counsel.[5] In 2006, she became a professor of law at the George Mason University School of Law (now Antonin Scalia Law School),[5] where she received tenure in 2012. In 2015, she founded the Center for the Study of the Administrative State.[6][5][7]
She is a member of the Administrative Conference of the United States and the governing council of the American Bar Association's Section of Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice, where she co-chairs the section's regulatory policy committee.[2][8] She is a member of the Federalist Society.[9]
On April 7, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Rao to become the administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) within the Office of Management and Budget. Former OIRA Administrator Susan Dudley, who served under President George W. Bush, described Rao as "an excellent choice to lead OIRA...In addition to a sharp legal mind, she brings an openness to different perspectives and an ability to manage the competing demands of regulatory policy."[10]
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Legal commentator and law professor Jonathan H. Adler wrote that "Trump's selection of Rao suggests the administration is serious about regulatory reform, not merely reducing high-profile regulatory burdens."[2] Opposition to Rao came from groups such as the League of Conservation Voters (LCV), who said she has "led efforts to roll back fundamental environmental protections" and has "misuse[d] the regulatory review process for partisan political purposes."[11] Rao was confirmed to the position by the United States Senate on July 10, 2017.[12]
On November 13, 2018, Trump announced that he would nominate Rao to the vacancy on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit created by Judge Brett Kavanaugh's elevation to the Supreme Court of the United States.[13] Her nomination was sent to the Senate later that day.[14] On January 3, 2019, her nomination was returned to the president under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6, of the United States Senate. On January 23, 2019, Trump announced his intent to renominate Rao for a federal judgeship.[15] Her nomination was sent to the Senate later that day.[16]
Rao's nomination attracted opposition due to articles that she wrote on race, sexual assault, feminism, and individuals with disabilities.[17]
In an article in the Yale Herald, Rao wrote: "Unless someone made her drinks undetectably strong or forced them down her throat, a woman, like a man, decides when and how much to drink. And if she drinks to the point where she can no longer choose, well, getting to that point was part of her choice."[18]
Rao was criticized by disability rights activists such as Rebecca Cokley for a 2011 law review article[19] and a blog post where then-Law Professor Rao expressed opposition to bans on dwarf-tossing.[20]
A hearing on her nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on February 5, 2019. Rao was asked by several Senators about her college writings, some of which they viewed as sexual assault victim blaming. Rao responded, "A victim of a horrible crime is not to blame and the person who commits those crimes should be held responsible."[21]
Democrats expressed concern that rules Rao worked to repeal in her role as administrator of the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs could face legal challenges and wind up before the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, which is considered the second most powerful appeals court. Rao said she would "look carefully at the standards for recusal, consult with her colleagues and follow the precedent and practices of the D.C. Circuit."[21] Republican Senator Josh Hawley questioned whether she was sufficiently socially conservative regarding abortion rights but ultimately voted for her confirmation.[22] On February 28, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[23] On March 12, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a 53–46 vote.[24] On March 13, 2019, Rao was confirmed by a 53–46 vote.[25] She received her judicial commission on March 18, 2019.[26]
Rao is married to Alan Lefkowitz, a former law school classmate,[40] with whom she has two children.[41] After marrying her husband, Rao converted to Judaism, however she still identifies as a Zoroastrian.[42][43][44]
