Oral history interview with Donald B. Verrilli Jr., 2020
Abstract
Don Verrilli discusses his contributions to the legal and judicial activities of the Obama administration, in which he served as associate deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice from 2009 to 2010, deputy White House counsel from 2010 to 2011, and solicitor general of the United States from 2011 to 2016. Verrilli outlines the structure and operations of the offices of the White House C ounsel and solicitor general, and provides details about major cases with which he was closely involved, including challenges to the constitutionality of aspects of the Affordable Care Act (National Federation of Independent Business v. Sebelius (2012) and King v. Burwell (2015)), Supreme Court cases focused on marriage equality (United States v. Windsor (2013), Hollingsworth v. Perry (2013), and Obergefell v. Hodges (2015)), and the Shelby County v. Holder (2013) decision that found unconstitutional the preclearance requirements of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. For each of these cases, Verrilli explains the relevant legal and constitutional issues, describes the process by which the administration developed its arguments, and shares stories of his experience arguing the cases before the Supreme Court and hearing its decisions. Also discussed are Verrilli's involvement in the administration's response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, the decision to release the set of George W. Bush-administration memoranda known as the torture memos, the Department of Justice's review of the use of state secrets privilege, and the importance of public messaging and social media around the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act
Presidents--United States; BP Deepwater Horizon Explosion and Oil Spill, 2010; Same-sex marriage--Law and legislation--United States; Security classification (Government documents)--United States; Verrilli, Donald B. (Donald Beaton), 1957-; Obama, Barack; Columbia University Alumni and alumnae; United States. Department of Justice; United States. Office of the Counsel to the President; United States; Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act; Voting Rights Act of 1965
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2020
Physical Description
55 pages; 55 pages; 55 pages
Note (Biographical)
Don Verrilli served as the 46th solicitor general of the United States from 2011 to 2016. Verrilli previously served in the Obama administration as the associate deputy attorney general in the Department of Justice from 2009 to 2010 and as deputy Whit e House counsel from 2010 to 2011. At the time of this interview he was a partner in the Washington, D.C. office of Munger, Tolles & Olson and a lecturer at Columbia University Law School, his alma mater
Note
Interviewed by Nicole R. Hemmer on November 13, 2020. This interview is part of the Columbia University: Obama Presidency Oral History
Note (Provenance)
Donald B. Verrilli Jr., Gift, transferred from Columbia Center for Oral History Research 2022