George Mason’s Scalia Law School Congratulates Professor Neomi Rao on Her Confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Senate Voted Today for Rao – an Associate Professor at Scalia Law – to Fill Justice Kavanaugh’s Former Seat on the Bench
Fairfax, VA— Today, the United States Senate voted 53-46 to confirm Neomi Rao, currently the Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Administrator Rao is currently on leave from her position as Associate Professor at George Mason’s Antonin Scalia Law School, where she has taught constitutional law, administrative law, and legislation and statutory interpretation.
Rao founded the law school’s Center for the Study of the Administrative State in 2015 and focused much of her scholarship on the political and constitutional accountability of administrative agencies and the role of Congress.
“Scalia Law School has been proud to have Professor Rao — soon to be Judge Rao — on our faculty,” said Scalia Law Dean Henry N. Butler. “She leaves a lasting legacy as instructor and mentor to students and founder of the Center for the Study of the Administrative State. I am confident Professor Rao will bring to her judicial role the same rigor, discipline, thoroughness, and commitment to excellence that she brought to her work in the law school.”
On July 10, 2017, Rao was confirmed to the position of Administrator of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs by the United States Senate. On November 13, 2018, President Donald Trump nominated Rao to the seat Justice Brett Kavanaugh previously occupied on the D.C. Circuit. The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing for her nomination on February 5, 2019. On February 28, 2019, her nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote. Yesterday, the Senate invoked cloture on her nomination by a vote of 53–46 setting in motion today’s confirmation vote.
Before joining the faculty at Scalia Law, Rao served in the White House Counsel’s office during the second term of the George W. Bush administration. She also worked on the staff of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Rao graduated from Yale University with highest distinction in ethics, politics, economics, and philosophy before attending the University of Chicago Law School, receiving her Juris Doctor in 2000. Rao clerked for Judge J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the United State Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 2000 to 2001 and then for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas from 2001 to 2002.
About George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School
In 1979, The International School of Law in Washington DC merged with George Mason University to become the George Mason University School of Law. In July 2016, the school was renamed Antonin Scalia Law School in honor of the late Supreme Court Justice. Scalia Law retains the vision of its founders, preparing students to learn, challenge, and lead. Every student at Scalia Law School enjoys exceptional opportunities in support of that mission.