President Joe Biden has tapped Ed Siskel to be the White House‘s top lawyer, replacing Stuart Delery at the start of next month.
Biden underscored Siskel’s career “defending the rule of law,” contending that experience renders him “the perfect choice” to become the next White House counsel as the president deals with special counsel Robert Hur‘s investigation into his mishandling of classified documents, for which is Biden expected to be interviewed, in addition to federal authorities and congressional Republicans looking into his son Hunter Biden.
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“For nearly four years in the White House when I was vice president, he helped the Counsel’s Office navigate complex challenges and advance the president’s agenda on behalf of the American people,” Biden said Tuesday. “As a federal prosecutor and then as the top counsel for one of America’s biggest and most vibrant cities, his hometown of Chicago, Ed has shown a deep commitment to public service and respect for the law.”
“His experience will let him hit the ground running as a key leader on my team as we continue making progress for the American people every day,” the president said.
Siskel, a Wesleyan University and University of Chicago Law School graduate, rose to White House deputy counsel under former President Barack Obama. During his tenure, the former clerk to retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens oversaw the Obama administration’s responses to congressional oversight, including those related to the 2011 Solyndra scandal and the 2012 Benghazi attack, and helped implement the Affordable Care Act.
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Since the Obama White House, Siskel has returned to private practice twice, serving two years in between as Chicago’s corporation counsel under then-Mayor Rahm Emanuel during former President Donald Trump‘s crackdown on illegal immigration. Prior to the Obama administration, he was at the Justice Department as a senior counsel to the deputy attorney general and then associate deputy attorney general. Previously, Siskel was a federal prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of Illinois.
Siskel is anticipated to lead Biden’s defense of his new, more modest federal student loan forgiveness program, among other issues.
