Steven Menashi

Steven James Menashi (born January 15, 1979)[2] is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

Steven J. Menashi
Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Incumbent
Assumed office November 14, 2019
Appointed by	Donald Trump
Preceded by	Dennis Jacobs
General Counsel of the United States Department of Education Acting
In office May 24, 2017 – April 23, 2018
President	Donald Trump
Preceded by	James Cole Jr.
Succeeded by	Carlos G. Muñiz
Personal details
Born	Steven James Menashi January 15, 1979 White Plains, New York, U.S.[1]
Education	Dartmouth College (AB) Stanford Law School (JD)

Early life

Menashi's grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Iraq and Ukraine and his maternal grandfather's relatives who stayed in Europe were murdered in the Holocaust.[3][4]

Education and career

Menashi earned a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Dartmouth College, graduating in 2001. He then worked at the Hoover Institute for three years. From 2004 to 2005 he was an editorial writer for The New York Sun.[5] Menashi returned to school in the fall of 2005 at Stanford Law School, where he was an editor of the Stanford Law Review. He graduated in 2008 with a Juris Doctor and was inducted into the Order of the Coif.[6]

Menashi served as a law clerk to Judge Douglas H. Ginsburg of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit during the 2008–2009 term, and to Associate Justice Samuel Alito of the Supreme Court of the United States during the 2010–2011 term.[7] In between, he was an Olin-Searle Fellow, a program offered by the Federalist Society, at Georgetown University Law Center.[8]

From 2011 to 2016, Menashi worked in the New York City office of Kirkland & Ellis, where he became a partner. While at Kirkland & Ellis, Menashi was a Research Fellow at the New York University School of Law and the Opperman Institute for Judicial Administration for three years, from 2013 to 2016.[9]

From 2016 to 2017, Menashi was an assistant professor of law at George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, where he focused on administrative law and civil procedure.[10]

Trump administration

He took a leave of absence beginning in 2017, to become the deputy general counsel for postsecondary service at the United States Department of Education, and to serve as general counsel on an acting basis for that department as of May 24.[11] At the Department of Education, Menashi helped devise a plan by the Department of Education to deny debt relief for thousands of students who claimed to have been cheated by for-profit colleges. The plan, which used students' private Social Security data, was ruled illegal by a federal judge.[12] His role as acting general counsel ended on April 23, 2018, after Carlos G. Muñiz was confirmed to that position by the U.S. Senate.[13]

In September 2018, Menashi moved to the White House to become a Special Assistant to the President and Associate Counsel to the President.[14]

Federal judicial service

On August 14, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Menashi to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[10][15][16] On September 9, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. That same day, the American Bar Association rated Menashi as "well qualified," its highest rating.[17] He has been nominated to the seat vacated by Dennis Jacobs, who took senior status on May 31, 2019.[18]

On September 11, 2019, a hearing on Menashi's nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[19] During his hearing, Menashi was criticized by senators from both parties for refusing to answer their questions regarding the legal advice he gave on the Trump administration's immigration policies.[20][21] He was also questioned about an article he had written in the University of Pennsylvania Journal of International Law about ethnonationalism and Israel.[22] On November 7, 2019, his nomination was reported out of committee by a party-line vote of 12–10.[23] On November 13, 2019, the Senate invoked cloture by a vote of 51–44.[24] On November 14, 2019, the Senate confirmed his nomination by a vote of 51–41.[25] He received his judicial commission the same day.

See also

• Donald Trump judicial appointment controversies

References

1. "Questionnaire for Judicial Nominees: Steven Menashi" (PDF). U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
2. Voruganti, Harsh (September 11, 2019). "Steven Menashi – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit". The Vetting Room. Retrieved October 18, 2019.
3. Daly, Matthew (September 11, 2019). "Senators blast Trump judicial nominee for silence at hearing". AP NEWS.
4. Blitzer, Ronn (September 11, 2019). "Trump court pick whose family fled persecution blasts racism accusation as 'hurtful' during confirmation hearing". Fox News.
5. Voruganti, Harsh (September 11, 2019). "Steven Menashi – Nominee to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit". The Vetting Room. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
6. Severino, Carrie (September 10, 2019). "Who is Steven Menashi?". National Review. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
7. Lat, David (April 10, 2010). "Supreme Court Clerk Hiring Watch: Meet Justice Thomas's Clerks". Above the Law. Retrieved August 14, 2019.
8. "Steven Menashi Senate Questionaire" (PDF).
9. "Latest 2nd Circ. Pick Is Trump Aide, Ex-Kirkland Partner". Law 360. August 14, 2019. Retrieved September 20, 2019.
10. Ryan, Tim (August 14, 2019). "Trump Names Picks for Second Circuit, Five Other Courts". Courthouse News. Retrieved August 16, 2019.
11. Kreighbaum, Andrew (June 1, 2017). "Department of Education Announces More Hires". Inside Higher Ed. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
12. Green, Erica L. (November 6, 2019). "Appeals Court Nominee Shaped DeVos's Illegal Loan Forgiveness Effort". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved November 22, 2019.
13. Crews, Joanna (April 19, 2018). "Carlos Muniz Confirmed as Education Department General Counsel". Executive Gov. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
14. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Appointments for the Executive Office of the President". The White House. September 6, 2018. Retrieved August 22, 2019.
15. "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees, United States Attorney Nominees, and United States Marshal Nominees". whitehouse.gov. August 14, 2019. Retrieved August 14, 2019. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
16. Holland, Jake (August 14, 2019). "Trump to Tap White House Aide for N.Y.-Based Appeals Court (2)". Bloomberg Law. Retrieved August 17, 2019.
17. Hubbard, William C. (September 9, 2019). "ABA Chair rating letter to Graham and Feinstein re nomination of Steven J. Menashi to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit" (PDF). Ethics and Public Policy Center.
18. "Seventeen Nominations and Two Withdrawals Sent to the Senate". The White House.
19. "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov.
20. Zilbermints, Regina (September 11, 2019). "Trump court pick sparks frustration for refusing to answer questions". TheHill. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
21. Levine, Marianne. "Republicans and Democrats hammer Trump's judicial nominee". POLITICO. Retrieved September 12, 2019.
22. Kaczynski, Andrew. "Trump court nominee says he regrets if past writings were 'overheated or extreme'". CNN. Retrieved September 13, 2019.
23. "Results of Executive Business – November 7, 2019, Senate Judiciary Committee" (PDF).
24. "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Steven J. Menashi to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit)". United States Senate. November 13, 2019. Retrieved November 13, 2019.
25. "On the Nomination (Confirmation Steven J. Menashi to be U.S. Circuit Judge for the Second Circuit)". United States Senate. November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.

External links

• Steven Menashi at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a public domain publication of the Federal Judicial Center.