Prelogar's Supreme Court opening statement in Biden v. Texas Recorded April 26, 2022.[2]
Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar (born March 7, 1980; néeElizabeth Margaret Barchas)[3] is an American lawyer who served as solicitor general of the United States from 2021 to 2025. Prior to this, she served as acting solicitor general from January 20, 2021,[4] at the start of the Biden administration, until President Joe Biden sent her nomination to the U.S. Senate on August 11, 2021.[5]
Early life and education
Prelogar was born on March 7, 1980, as the youngest of four children to Jeanne Louise (née Bullock)[6] and Rudolph Daniel "Rudy" Barchas[3][7] and was raised in Boise, Idaho.[8] She has two older brothers and one older sister. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a teacher.[9]
On August 10, 2021, President Biden nominated Prelogar to the office of solicitor general.[20][23] Her nomination was sent to the Senate that same day.[24] Her nomination was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee,[25] which approved it by a vote of 13–9.[26] She was prevented from serving while the nomination was before the Senate as a result of the terms of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998.[27]
On October 28, 2021, the Senate confirmed Prelogar as solicitor general by a vote of 53–36,[28] making her the second woman to hold the position after Elena Kagan, who later became a Supreme Court Justice.[29][30] She was sworn into office later on that day.[31]
^ abPrelogar, Elizabeth Barchas (2021). "Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees"(primary source (PDF)). Judiciary.Senate.gov. Washington, DC: United States Senate, Committee on the Juciciary. Archived(PDF) from the original on April 1, 2022. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
^Perkins, Christine (February 19, 2021). "More Harvard Law Faculty and Alumni Tapped to Serve in the Biden Administration". Harvard Law Today. Archived from the original on October 27, 2021. Retrieved October 28, 2021. [complete text appearing] Elizabeth Prelogar '08 was named principal deputy solicitor general of the U.S.. Department of Justice. She was previously a partner at Cooley in Washington, D.C., where she focused on Supreme Court and appellate litigation, and she was a former assistant to the U.S. solicitor general. Prelogar was also a legal adviser in the special counsel probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Last fall, she taught the Supreme Court and Appellate Advocacy Workshop at HLS.
^Siskind, Amy (March 27, 2018). The List: A Week-by-Week Reckoning of Trump's First Year (1st American ed.). New York, NY: Bloomsbury. p. 172. ISBN9781635572711.
^"Nominations Sent to the Senate" (Press release). Washington, D.C.: The White House. August 11, 2021. Archived from the original on August 11, 2021. Retrieved August 11, 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
^108 Cong. Rec. E1636 (daily ed. Sept. 15, 2004) (statement of C.L. "Butch" Otter). Title of statement is "In Honor of Miss Idaho 2004"Archived February 28, 2023, at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
