Elizabeth Barchas Prelogar (born March 7, 1980;

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Elizabeth Margaret Barchas) is an American lawyer who served as

solicitor general of the United States The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

from 2021 to 2025. Prior to this, she served as acting solicitor general from January 20, 2021, at the start of the

Biden administration Joe Biden's tenure as the List of presidents of the United States, 46th president of the United States began with Inauguration of Joe Biden, his inauguration on January 20, 2021, and ended on January 20, 2025. Biden, a member of the Democr ...

, until President

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

sent her nomination to the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

on August 11, 2021.

Early life and education

Prelogar was born on March 7, 1980, as the youngest of four children to Jeanne Barchas (née Bullock) and Rudolf Barchas and was raised in

Boise, Idaho Boise ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Idaho, most populous city of the U.S. state of Idaho. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, there were 235,685 people residing in the city. Loca ...

. She has two older brothers and one older sister. Her father was a lawyer and her mother was a

special education Special education (also known as special-needs education, aided education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, and SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates their individual di ...

teacher. Prelogar graduated from Boise High School in 1998. After first taking college courses at

Boise State University Boise State University (BSU) is a Public university, public research university in Boise, Idaho, United States. Founded in 1932 by the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, it became an independent junior college in 1934 and has b ...

at the age of 12, she attended

Emory University Emory University is a private university, private research university in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. It was founded in 1836 as Emory College by the Methodist Episcopal Church and named in honor of Methodist bishop John Emory. Its main campu ...

, where she double majored in English and

Russian Russian(s) may refer to: *Russians (), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *A citizen of Russia *Russian language, the most widely spoken of the Slavic languages *''The Russians'', a b ...

and was a

Fulbright Scholar The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the peopl ...

. She graduated in 2002 with a

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

, ''summa cum laude''. During 2002 and 2003, Prelogar studied

creative writing Creative writing is any writing that goes beyond the boundaries of normal professional, journalistic, academic, or technical forms of literature, typically identified by an emphasis on craft and technique, such as narrative structure, character ...

at the

University of St Andrews The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the List of oldest universities in continuous operation, oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, f ...

as a Robert T. Jones Scholar, receiving an M.Litt. with distinction. She then attended

Harvard Law School Harvard Law School (HLS) is the law school of Harvard University, a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1817, Harvard Law School is the oldest law school in continuous operation in the United ...

, where she was an articles editor for the ''

Harvard Law Review The ''Harvard Law Review'' is a law review published by an independent student group at Harvard Law School. According to the ''Journal Citation Reports'', the ''Harvard Law Review''s 2015 impact factor of 4.979 placed the journal first out of ...

'' and a finalist in the

Ames Moot Court Competition The Ames Moot Court Competition is the annual upper level moot court competition at Harvard Law School. It is designed and administered by the HLS Board of Student Advisers and has been in existence since 1911, when it was founded by a bequest in h ...

. Prelogar graduated in 2008 with a J.D., ''magna cum laude''. Prelogar is fluent in

. While at Harvard, she won an

Overseas Press Club The Overseas Press Club of America (OPC) was founded in 1939 in New York City by a group of foreign correspondents. The wire service reporter Carol Weld was a founding member, as was the war correspondent Peggy Hull. The club seeks to maintain ...

scholarship to study

Russian media Television, magazines, and newspapers have all been operated by both state-owned and for-profit corporations which depend on advertising, subscription, and other sales-related revenues. Even though the Constitution of Russia guarantees freed ...

and

censorship Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information. This may be done on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by governmen ...

Career

Early legal career

After graduating from law school, Prelogar spent three years as a

law clerk A law clerk, judicial clerk, or judicial assistant is a person, often a lawyer, who provides direct counsel and assistance to a lawyer or judge by Legal research, researching issues and drafting legal opinions for cases before the court. Judicial ...

. She first clerked for Judge

Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as the 86th United States attorney general from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Dist ...

of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit from 2008 to 2009, then for

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on question ...

Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

from 2009 to 2010, and then finally for Supreme Court Justice

Elena Kagan Elena Kagan ( ; born April 28, 1960) is an American lawyer who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was Elena Kagan Supreme Court nomination ...

from 2010 to 2011. She then entered private practice as an associate at

Hogan Lovells Hogan Lovells ( ) is an American-British law firm co-headquartered in London and Washington, DC. The firm was formed in 2010 by the merger of the American law firm Hogan & Hartson and the British law firm Lovells. As of 2024, the firm employed a ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

She taught a course at Harvard Law School on Supreme Court and appellate advocacy. She also performed in a

mock trial A mock trial is an act or imitation trial. It is similar to a moot court, but mock trials simulate lower-court trials, while moot court simulates appellate court hearings. Attorneys preparing for a real trial might use a mock trial consisti ...

with

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh (; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oct ...

and

Ketanji Brown Jackson Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson (née Brown; ; born September 14, 1970) is an American lawyer and jurist who is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination, was nominated ...

in 2016 prior to their appointments to the Supreme Court. From 2014 to 2019, Prelogar was an assistant to the U.S. solicitor general. She was briefly detailed to the

Mueller special counsel investigation The Robert Mueller special counsel investigation was an investigation into 45th U.S. president Donald Trump regarding Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections and was conducted by special prosecutor Robert Mueller from May 201 ...

into Russian interference in the

2016 United States presidential election United States presidential election, Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 8, 2016. The Republican Party (United States), Republican ticket of businessman Donald Trump and Indiana Governor, Indiana governor Mike P ...

. In 2020, she joined the

, office of

Cooley LLP Cooley LLP is an American international law firm, headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices worldwide. The firm's practice areas include corporate, litigation, intellectual property, fund formation, public markets, employment, life ...

as a partner. She was named principal deputy solicitor general by President

in January 2021 and served as acting solicitor general.

Solicitor general

On August 10, 2021, President Biden nominated Prelogar to the office of solicitor general. Her nomination was sent to the Senate that same day. Her nomination was referred to the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

, which approved it by a vote of 13–9. She was prevented from serving while the nomination was before the Senate as a result of the terms of the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998. On October 28, 2021, the Senate confirmed Prelogar as solicitor general by a vote of 53–36, making her the second woman to hold the position after

, who later became a Supreme Court Justice. She was sworn into office later on that day.

Personal life

She married Brandon Prelogar in 2008, and they have two sons together. Prelogar was Miss Idaho Teen USA in 1998, Miss Idaho USA in 2001, and Miss Idaho in 2004.108 Cong. Rec. E1636 (daily ed. Sept. 15, 2004) (statement of C.L. "Butch" Otter). Title of statement i
"In Honor of Miss Idaho 2004"
. Retrieved February 28, 2023. Prelogar donated to the

Barack Obama 2012 presidential campaign On April 4, 2011, Barack Obama, the List of presidents of the United States, 44th president of the United States, announced his candidacy for re-election as president. On September 5, 2012, he again became the nominee of the Democratic Party ...

and

Hillary Clinton 2016 presidential campaign In 2016, Hillary Clinton ran unsuccessfully for president of the United States. Clinton ran as the Democratic Party's candidate for president, in which she became the first woman to win a presidential nomination by a major U.S. political pa ...

References

External links

Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court
from the

Oyez Project The Oyez Project is an unofficial online multimedia archive website for the Supreme Court of the United States. It was initiated by the Illinois Institute of Technology's Chicago-Kent College of Law and now also sponsored by Cornell Law School Le ...

* * , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Prelogar, Elizabeth 1980 births Living people 21st-century American women lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Alumni of the University of St Andrews American beauty pageant winners Biden administration personnel Emory University alumni Harvard Law School alumni Harvard Law School faculty Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Lawyers from Boise, Idaho Members of the 2017 Special Counsel investigation team People associated with Hogan Lovells Solicitors general of the United States United States Department of Justice lawyers