Sean Joseph Cooksey is a Commissioner of the

Federal Election Commission The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...

Education

Cooksey received his

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

, ''

summa 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 So ...

'', from

Truman State University Truman State University (TSU or Truman) is a public university in Kirksville, Missouri. It had 4,225 enrolled students in the fall of 2021 pursuing degrees in 52 undergraduate and 11 graduate programs. The university is named for U.S. Preside ...

and his

Juris Doctor The Juris Doctor (J.D. or JD), also known as Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D., JD, D.Jur., or DJur), is a graduate-entry professional degree in law and one of several Doctor of Law degrees. The J.D. is the standard degree obtained to practice l ...

from the

University of Chicago Law School The University of Chicago Law School is the law school of the University of Chicago, a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. It is consistently ranked among the best and most prestigious law schools in the world, and has many dist ...

, where he graduated with High Honors and

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif is an honor society for United States law school graduates. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of advocates, the serjeants-at-law, whose courtroom attire included a coif—a white lawn or silk skullcap ...

, and served as a Managing Editor on the

University of Chicago Law Review The ''University of Chicago Law Review'' (Maroonbook abbreviation: ''U Chi L Rev'') is the flagship law journal published by the University of Chicago Law School. It is among the top five most cited law reviews in the world. Up until 2020, it utili ...

."President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Individuals to Key Administration Posts" White House, October 28, 2020

Legal career

Cooksey served as a law clerk for Judge

Jerry Edwin Smith Jerry Edwin Smith (born November 7, 1946) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Early life and education Born on November 7, 1946, in Del Rio, ...

of the

United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (in case citations, 5th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following federal judicial districts: * Eastern District of Louisiana * M ...

. He then worked as a litigation associate at

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP is an American multinational law firm headquartered in Los Angeles, California. Founded in 1890, the firm includes approximately 1,400 attorneys and 1,000 staff located in 20 offices around the world, including North ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

where his practice focused on appeals and constitutional law. He later served as Deputy Chief Counsel for Senator

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward "Ted" Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States Senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from ...

of Texas. He then served as General Counsel to Senator

Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and lawyer who has served as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri since 2019. A member of the Republic ...

of Missouri. He advised the Senator on issues including constitutional law, judicial nominations, election law, federal criminal law, and ethics compliance, and served as the Senator's lead staffer on the

U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the Department of Justice (DOJ), consider executive and judicial nominations, ...

Appointment to the Federal Election Commission

On October 28, 2020, President

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of ...

announced his intent to nominate Cooksey to serve as a Commissioner of the

. On October 30, 2020, his nomination was sent to the Senate. He was nominated to the vacancy created by the retirement of

Lee E. Goodman Lee E. Goodman (born March 29, 1964) was a member and former chair of the Federal Election Commission (FEC), an independent regulatory agency created by Congress to administer and enforce campaign finance law. Biography Goodman was born on March ...

on February 16, 2018. On December 9, 2020, he was confirmed by the Senate by a vote of 50–46. He was sworn in on December 14, 2020, making him the youngest commissioner in FEC history.

Personal life

Cooksey is a

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or again ...

References

Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American lawyers Members of the Federal Election Commission Missouri lawyers Missouri Republicans People associated with Gibson Dunn Truman State University alumni University of Chicago Law School alumni United States Senate lawyers {{US-law-bio-stub