Gregory G. Katsas
Gregory George Katsas (born August 6, 1964) is a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Early life and career. Katsas was born in 1964 in Boston, Massachusetts, to Greek immigrant parents. He earned an Bachelor of Arts "cum laude" from Princeton University and a Juris Doctor "cum laude" from Harvard Law School, where he was executive editor of the "Harvard Law Review" and an editor of the "Harvard Journal of Law and Public Policy". Katas served as a law clerk to Judge Edward R. Becker of  the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit from 1989 to 1990. He then clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court from 1990 to 1991. He was an associate and partner at Jones Day from 1992 until 2001 and from 2009 until 2016, where he specialized in civil and appellate litigation. He argued more than 75 appeals, including three cases in the U.S. Supreme Court. From 2001 to 2009, he served in various positions within the United States Department of Justice, including Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Division and Acting Associate Attorney General . Federal judicial service. On September 7, 2017, President Donald Trump nominated Katsas to serve as a United States Circuit Judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, to the seat vacated by Judge Janice Rogers Brown, who retired on August 31, 2017. On October 17, 2017, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee. On November 9, 2017, his nomination was reported out of committee by an 11–9 roll call vote. On November 27, 2017, the United States Senate voted to invoke cloture by a party line vote of 52–48 . On November 28, 2017, by a party line vote except for John Neely Kennedy R-LA and Joe Manchin D-WV, with Bob Corker and John McCain absent, the Senate voted to confirm Katsas by a vote of 50–48. He received his judicial commission on December 8, 2017. In 2017, Katsas recused himself from matters regarding the Mueller's probe on which he personally worked, but said he would consider the facts of a case before making a decision. On September 9, 2020, President Trump included him on a list of his potential nominees to the Supreme Court. On July  6, 2021, Judge Katsas gave the tie-breaking 2-1 vote that overturned the FDA's ban on GEDs used predominantly by the Judge Rotenberg Center on disabled patients in Canton, MA. Memberships. He is a member of the Federalist Society, and also a member of the American Academy of Appellate Lawyers. Awards. In 2009, he was awarded the Edmund Randolph award for outstanding service, the highest award bestowed by the U.S. Department of Justice.