Noel Francisco | |
|---|---|
 Official portrait, 2017 | |
| 47thSolicitor General of the United States | |
| In office September 19, 2017 – July 3, 2020 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Deputy | Jeff Wall |
| Preceded by | Jeff Wall (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Wall (acting) |
| Acting January 20, 2017 – March 10, 2017 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Ian Heath Gershengorn (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Wall (acting) |
| Principal Deputy Solicitor General of the United States | |
| In office January 20, 2017 – March 10, 2017 | |
| President | Donald Trump |
| Preceded by | Ian Heath Gershengorn |
| Succeeded by | Jeff Wall |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Noel John Francisco (1969-08-21)August 21, 1969 (age 56) |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Cynthia Stewart |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Brandeis University University of Chicago (BA,JD) |
Francisco's opening statements to the Supreme Court inBabb v. Wilkie. Recorded January 15, 2020 | |
Noel John Francisco (born August 21, 1969) is an American lawyer who served asSolicitor General of the United States from 2017 to 2020.[1] He was the firstAsian American confirmed by theUnited States Senate to hold the position.[2] Francisco is now apartner at the law firmJones Day.
As Solicitor General, Francisco was characterized as a staunch defender of PresidentDonald Trump. In his position, Francisco sought to have thePatient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) andDeferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) struck down by the courts, neither of which occurred during his tenure. He also defendedExecutive Order 13769, which was a ban on travelers from predominantly Muslim countries deemed to present security risks; this was ultimately upheld by theSupreme Court inTrump v. Hawaii.[3][4]
Francisco was born on August 21, 1969, inSyracuse, New York.[5][6] His father, Nemesio Francisco, was aphysician who immigrated to the United States from thePhilippines to study medicine. His mother, Therese, was fromOswego, New York.[5] Francisco grew up in Oswego and graduated fromOswego High School in 1987.[5][7]
Francisco attendedBrandeis University for one year before transferring to theUniversity of Chicago, graduating in 1991 with aBachelor of Arts degree ineconomics with honors.[7][5][8] From 1991 to 1993, Francisco was a financial analyst forMorgan Stanley andGleacher and Company.[7] He then attended theUniversity of Chicago Law School, graduating in 1996 with aJ.D. degree with high honors.[5][8]
After law school, Francisco was alaw clerk to JudgeJ. Michael Luttig of theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 1996 to 1997 and to U.S. Supreme Court justiceAntonin Scalia from 1997 to 1998.[8][9] He then entered private practice at Cooper, Carvin, & Rosenthal (now Cooper & Kirk).[10] He was part of the legal team that worked forGeorge W. Bush on theFlorida recount in the 2000 presidential election.[5] In 2001, Francisco was appointed as an Associate Counsel to President Bush in the Office ofCounsel to the President. He later moved to the Office of Legal Counsel for the DeputyAssistant Attorney General in theUnited States Department of Justice, serving in that capacity from 2003 until 2005.
In 2005, Francisco moved back to the private sector, joining theWashington, D.C. office of the law firmJones Day, eventually becoming the chair of the firm's government regulation practice. While at Jones Day, he appeared several times before the Supreme Court, including inMcDonnell v. United States, which involved the meaning of "official act" under federal bribery statutes;Zubik v. Burwell, which involved the application of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act to regulations related to insurance coverage for contraception; andNLRB v. Noel Canning, which involved theConstitution’s recess appointment power.[11] He also argued numerous cases in the lower federal and state courts on a wide range of constitutional, civil, and criminal matters.[8]
Francisco left Jones Day when he was appointed by PresidentDonald Trump to the position of Principal Deputy Solicitor General for the United States, effective January 23, 2017.[9][12][13][14] He served as the Acting Solicitor General from that date until March 10, 2017. On March 7, 2017, the White House announced Francisco's nomination to the position of Solicitor General.[9][15][16] He was confirmed by the U.S. Senate by a vote of 50–47 on September 19, 2017,[17] and was sworn in later that day.
With the resignation ofRachel Brand asAssociate Attorney General on February 8, 2018, Francisco became the fourth-ranking official in the Justice Department.[18] Francisco received an ethics waiver on April 24, 2018, which relieved him of a previous obligation to recuse himself from any investigation in which his former employer, law firmJones Day, was involved.[19][20] Jones Day, which owed Francisco approximately $500,000, represented the Trump presidential campaign in theSpecial Counsel investigation.[19]
On June 17, 2020, Francisco announced that he would be leaving his post at the Department of Justice, effective July 3, 2020.[21] In his three years as United States Solicitor General, Francisco had represented the United States government in over 150 merit cases, and personally argued in 17.[22]
As Solicitor General, Francisco was characterized as an "aggressive defender" of Trump. As Solicitor General, Francisco sought to have the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) and the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) struck down.[23] He defended Trump's travel ban, which barred people from seven majority-Muslim countries.[23] He sought to prevent Congress from accessing a redacted version of Special Counsel Robert Mueller's report into Russian interference in the 2016 election.[24] He defended the Justice Department's decision to withdraw a case against Trump associate Michael Flynn even after Flynn had pleaded guilty.[24] He fought against a subpoena to turn over Trump's tax records to theManhattan District Attorney.[25]
Francisco is married with two daughters and resides inWashington, D.C.[9] He previously served on the board of directors of the Chicago-basedLumen Christi Institute.[26]
This article incorporatespublic domain material fromMeet The Acting Solicitor General (Justice.gov).United States government.
| Legal offices | ||
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| Preceded by Ian Gershengorn Acting | Solicitor General of the United States Acting 2017 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Solicitor General of the United States 2017–2020 | |
| International | |
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| National | |
