Donald Verrilli will step down from his position as U.S. solicitor general, a role her served for five years, the White House announced Thursday.
In a statement, President Obama praised him for fightin “in our nation’s highest court for a better future, winning landmark cases that moved America forward.”
As the federal government’s top lawyer in court, he argued some of the biggest legal cases in recent history, as Obama referenced in his statement. Those cases include challenges to Obamacare, the case that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide, and against Arizona’s “show me your papers” law that targeted immigrants.
“Don has been a dedicated public servant who has helped our nation live up to its promise of liberty and justice for all. I am grateful for his trusted counsel and friendship. And I wish Don and his family all the best in what comes next, including, hopefully, a well-deserved vacation,” Obama said.
The Department of Justice also put out a statement in which Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch called Verrilli “a brilliant lawyer, a devoted public servant and one of the most consequential Solicitors General in American history.”
The statement also said Ian Gershengorn — who served in the DOJ first in the Clinton administration and then returning in 2009 — would assume the role of Acting Solicitor General.
“In his two tours of duty with the Department of Justice, Ian Gershengorn has earned a reputation as an exceptionally talented attorney and a gifted defender of the Constitution,” Lynch said.
