Obama names Elena Kagan as Solicitor General


President-elect Obama has named Elena Kagan, Harvard Law School dean, as Solicitor General.
From Think Progress:

Kagan will be the first woman to serve permanently in this important post, which is tasked with conducting “all litigation on behalf of the United States in the Supreme Court, and to supervise the handling of litigation in the federal appellate courts. Kagan previously served in the White House during the Clinton administration, as Associate Counsel to the President, Deputy Assistant the the President for Domestic Policy, and Deputy Director of the Domestic Policy Council. (Emphasis mine)

In an email to the law school community, Kagan wrote, “I have accepted this nomination because it offers me the opportunity, working under the leadership of the President-elect and his nominee for Attorney General, Eric Holder, to help advance this nation’s commitment to the rule of law at what I think is a critical time in our history.”
Related: Also note-worthy is that Dawn Johnsen, former legal director for NARAL, was named the new head of the Office of Legal Counsel. So we got another high-level female appointee – one with a strong reproductive rights background to boot! Sweet.

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