George Conway
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George Thomas Conway III (born September 2, 1963) is an American lawyer and activist. Conway argued and won the 2010 case '' Morrison v. National Australia Bank'' before the
Supreme Court of the United States 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 Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...
. Conway was considered by President
Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...
for appointment to two positions in the
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
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. ...
and
Assistant Attorney General Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...
heading the Civil Division—but Conway withdrew himself from consideration. In 2018, Conway emerged as a vocal Trump critic while his wife, Kellyanne Conway, worked for Trump from 2016 to 2020. During the 2020 presidential election, Conway was involved with the Lincoln Project, a coalition of former Republicans dedicated to defeating Trump.


Early life and education

George Conway's father, an electrical engineer, worked for
defense contractor A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and ...
Raytheon Raytheon is a business unit of RTX Corporation and is a major U.S. defense contractor and industrial corporation with manufacturing concentrations in weapons and military and commercial electronics. Founded in 1922, it merged in 2020 with Unite ...
. His mother was an
organic chemist Organic chemistry is a subdiscipline within chemistry involving the science, scientific study of the structure, properties, and reactions of organic compounds and organic matter, organic materials, i.e., matter in its various forms that contain ...
from the
Philippines The Philippines, officially the Republic of the Philippines, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in Southeast Asia. Located in the western Pacific Ocean, it consists of List of islands of the Philippines, 7,641 islands, with a tot ...
. Conway grew up outside
Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
and graduated from Marlborough High School in
Marlborough, Massachusetts Marlborough is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 41,793 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Marlborough became a prosperous industrial town in the 19th century and made the transition to high ...
. In 1984, Conway graduated ''
magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...
'' from
Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate education, undergraduate college of Harvard University, a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Part of the Harvard Faculty of Arts and Scienc ...
with a
Bachelor of Arts 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 deg ...
in
biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...
, where William A. Haseltine served as his faculty advisor. Three years later, he obtained his
Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...
from
Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...
, where he was an editor of the ''
Yale Law Journal ''The Yale Law Journal'' (YLJ) is a student-run law review affiliated with the Yale Law School. Published continuously since 1891, it is the most widely known of the eight law reviews published by students at Yale Law School. The journal is one ...
'' and president of the school's
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...
chapter.


Career


Legal career

In 1987 and 1988, Conway served as a law clerk to Judge Ralph K. Winter Jr. of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. In September 1988, Conway joined the law firm of Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. He was named a partner of the firm in the Litigation Department in January 1994 at a million dollars a year. Conway's practice focused on litigation involving securities, mergers and acquisitions, contracts, and antitrust. In 2016, Wachtell Lipton reported $5.8 million in profits per partner. Conway agreed to work unpaid as one of the attorneys who represented
Paula Jones Paula Corbin Jones (born Paula Rosalee Corbin; September 17, 1966) is an American civil servant. A former Arkansas state employee, Jones sued United States President Bill Clinton for sexual harassment in 1994. In the initial lawsuit, Jones accus ...
in her lawsuit against U.S. president Bill Clinton. During the representation of Jones, Conway worked closely with
Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic ...
and Matt Drudge. On March 29, 2010, Conway argued the securities case of '' Morrison v. National Australia Bank'' before the U.S. Supreme Court. Conway won the case, which was decided by an 8–0 vote; the opinion was written by Justice
Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...
. Conway has been considered for some
United States Department of Justice The United States Department of Justice (DOJ), also known as the Justice Department, is a United States federal executive departments, federal executive department of the U.S. government that oversees the domestic enforcement of Law of the Unite ...
posts. In January 2017, he was considered for the post of
Solicitor General A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...
. The job eventually went to Noel Francisco. On March 17, 2017, it was reported that he would be nominated to run the
United States Department of Justice Civil Division The United States Department of Justice Civil Division represents the United States, its departments and agencies, members of Congress, cabinet officers, and other federal employees. Led by the United States Assistant Attorney General for the C ...
. However, on June 2, 2017, Conway announced that he declined to pursue the post. On November 16, 2018, Conway stated that a reason he did not join the Trump administration was because it was "like a shitshow in a dumpster fire".


Anti-Trump activism

On November 9, 2018, Conway and Neal Katyal wrote an op-ed in ''The New York Times'' challenging the constitutionality of Trump's appointment of
Matthew Whitaker Matthew George Whitaker (born October 29, 1969) is an American lawyer, politician, and diplomat serving as the 26th List of United States permanent representatives to NATO, United States permanent representative to NATO since 2025 in the Second ...
as acting attorney general following the termination of
Jeff Sessions Jefferson Beauregard Sessions III (born December 24, 1946) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 84th United States attorney general from 2017 to 2018. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as United Stat ...
. Trump relied on the Federal Vacancies Reform Act of 1998 (FVRA), which allows the president to make interim appointments, to appoint Whitaker. Conway and Katyal argued that it was a mistake to try to use the FVRA to override the explicit wording of the Constitution, which requires Senate approval of all appointees who answer directly to the president. In November 2018, Conway organized a group called
Checks and Balances The separation of powers principle functionally differentiates several types of state power (usually law-making, adjudication, and execution) and requires these operations of government to be conceptually and institutionally distinguishabl ...
. The group was composed of more than a dozen members of the conservative-libertarian
Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...
, which had been instrumental in selecting candidates for the Trump administration to appoint to federal courts. ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported that the group was "urging their fellow conservatives to speak up about what they say are the Trump administration's betrayals of bedrock legal norms". Conway is a founding member and advisor of the Lincoln Project, a conservative
Super PAC Independent expenditure-only political action committees, better known as super PACs, are a type of political action committee (PAC) in the United States. Unlike traditional PACs, super PACs are legally allowed to fundraise unlimited amounts of m ...
formed in December 2019 and dedicated to "Defeat President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box". Its detailed aim is "persuading enough disaffected conservatives, Republicans and Republican-leaning independents in swing states and districts to help ensure a victory in the Electoral College, and congressional majorities that don't enable or abet Mr. Trump's violations of the Constitution". The group released its first video on January 9, 2020; called "The MAGA Church"; it warns evangelicals to beware of false prophets. On August 23, 2020, he announced that he would be taking a leave from the Lincoln Project in order to devote more time to his family. Kellyanne Conway, his wife, announced her departure from the White House the same day as well. In 2021, Conway said that the Lincoln Project should shut down considering revelations that some of its leadership ignored warnings that another founder was harassing young men, including interns. Following the
first impeachment of Donald Trump Donald Trump, serving as the 45th president of the United States, was impeached for the first time on December 18, 2019. On that date, the House of Representatives adopted two articles of impeachment against Trump: abuse of power and obstru ...
, Conway opined in ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' that if the relevant witnesses are not allowed to testify during the Senate Trump impeachment trial, Trump's defenders will be negatively affected by "the very evidence they sought to suppress". Upon Senator
Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...
's refusal to subpoena
John Bolton John Robert Bolton (born November 20, 1948) is an American attorney, diplomat, Republican Party (United States), Republican consultant, and political commentator. He served as the 25th United States ambassador to the United Nations from 2005 to ...
in a Senate impeachment trial, Conway and Neal K. Katyal opined in ''The New York Times'', "There is only one possible explanation for this behavior: cConnellis afraid of the truth. Otherwise, what argument can there be for refusing to hear from a central witness like Mr. Bolton, who other witnesses have indicated was exceptionally concerned about the suspension of military aid to Ukraine?" In April 2024, Conway donated the maximum legal amount of $929,600 to the Biden Victory Fund. When questioned about why he made the donation, Conway told ''CNN ''that he believed the election crucial for upholding democracy and the rule of law. In May 2024, Conway funded a billboard directly on the path from
Mar-a-Lago Mar-a-Lago ( , ) is a resort and National Historic Landmark on a barrier island in Palm Beach, Florida, United States. It spans 126 rooms and built on of land. Since 1985, it has been owned by Donald Trump, the 45th and 47th president of t ...
to Doral where Trump plays golf. The advertisement said "Vote for Joe, not the psycho".


Media presence

Conway occasionally appears in mainstream news media as an expert guest to offer his opinion in matters involving Donald Trump's legal battles. Beside the national TV networks he also would join in podcasts of several streaming channels. Since 2024 he has worked with Sarah Longwell from the Bulwark. They created the "George Conway Explains" video series in which they discuss current issues having to do with the law, and Conway breaks them down for a lay audience.


In popular culture

In the 3rd season of FX television series, Impeachment: American Crime Story, which portrays the Clinton-Lewinsky scandal, George Conway was played by
George Salazar George Ernest Salazar (born March 7, 1986) is an American actor and singer. He is known for his work on and off-Broadway theatre, Broadway. He made his Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Stephen Schwartz (composer), Stephen Schwartz's ''Godsp ...
.


Personal life

In the late 1990s, Conway dated
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
pundit Laura Ingraham. After he saw Kellyanne Fitzpatrick on the cover of a society magazine, he asked
Ann Coulter Ann Hart Coulter (; born December 8, 1961) is an American conservative media pundit, author, syndicated columnist, and lawyer. She became known as a media pundit in the late 1990s, appearing in print and on cable news as an outspoken critic ...
for an introduction and began dating Fitzpatrick. George and Kellyanne married in 2001. They have four children. The family lived in Alpine, New Jersey, but moved to
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 ...
, after Trump was elected president. In 2020, Conway's daughter, Claudia Conway, made a series of anti-Trump comments on
TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...
. On July 2, she said that her father approved of her right to free speech and voicing her own opinions. Since 2018, Conway's stated political positions have often been contrary to those taken by his wife on behalf of the Trump administration. His published legal interpretations of Trump's actions differ from his wife's positions, and on Twitter he has been critical of Trump on a personal level. In March 2019, Trump responded to Conway's attacks by calling him a "stone cold LOSER & husband from hell" on
Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...
. Kellyanne defended Trump's comments in an interview, saying that Trump was "a counterpuncher" and was free to respond when he is attacked. In March 2023, George and Kellyanne announced that they were divorcing after 22 years of marriage.


Selected publications

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References


External links


George T. Conway III
cases at the U.S. Supreme Court. Oyez.com * {{DEFAULTSORT:Conway, George 1963 births Living people American founders People from Marlborough, Massachusetts Lawyers from Boston Lawyers from Washington, D.C. 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American lawyers Harvard College alumni Yale Law School alumni Criticism of Donald Trump American people of Filipino descent Massachusetts Republicans Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz people