{{Short description|American lawyer (born 1974)}} {{Use American English|date=March 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=November 2018}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = D. John Sauer | image = Dean John Sauer Official Portrait 2025.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2025 | office = 49th Solicitor General of the United States | president = Donald Trump | term_start = April 4, 2025 | term_end = | predecessor = Elizabeth Prelogar | successor = | office1 = Solicitor General of Missouri | governor1 = Eric Greitens<br>Mike Parson | term_start1 = January 9, 2017 | term_end1 = January 3, 2023 | predecessor1 = James Layton | successor1 = Josh Divine | birth_name = Dean John Sauer | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1974|11|13}} | birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | education = {{ubl | Duke University (BA, BS) |Oriel College, Oxford (BA) |University of Notre Dame (MA) |Harvard University (JD)}} | module = {{Listen |pos=center |embed=yes |filename=D. John Sauer's opening statement before the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. CASA.ogg |title=Sauer's voice |type=speech |description=Sauer's opening statement before the Supreme Court in ''Trump v. CASA''<br />Recorded May 15, 2025}} }} '''Dean John Sauer''' ({{ipac-en|s|aʊər}}; born November 13, 1974) is an American lawyer who has served as the solicitor general of the United States since 2025. He previously served as solicitor general of Missouri from 2017 to 2023. In 2024, he represented Donald Trump in ''Trump v. United States''.
As solicitor general of Missouri, Sauer sought to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election. As solicitor general of the United States, Sauer argued in front of the Supreme Court to limit birthright citizenship,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gannon |first=Paula Reid, Casey |date=2026-03-31 |title=D. John Sauer: Trump’s top litigator faces uphill battle with birthright citizenship |url=https://www.cnn.com/2026/03/31/politics/sauer-trump-lawyer-birthright |website=CNN Politics |language=en}}</ref> and to include the Department of Government Efficiency as a "presidential advisory body" within the Executive Office of the President.<ref name=":1" />
== Early life and education == Sauer was born on November 13, 1974, in St. Louis, Missouri, to a family that was prominent in local business and politics.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Paul |last=Wagman |date=June 9, 2022 |title=D. John Sauer: Scion of a well-known and powerful St. Louis family |url=https://gatewayjr.org/d-john-sauer-scion-of-a-well-known-and-powerful-st-louis-family/ |access-date=March 15, 2025 |website=Gateway Journalism Review}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url = https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/sauer_sjq.pdf|title = Questionnaire for Non-Judicial Nominees|website = United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary|accessdate = October 3, 2025}}</ref> He attended Saint Louis Priory School, a Catholic day school for boys in Creve Coeur run by the Benedictines of Saint Louis Abbey.<ref>{{Cite news| issn = 0362-4331| last = VanSickle| first = Abbie| title = Trump's Pick to Argue at Supreme Court Made His Career in Culture Wars| work = The New York Times| access-date = 2026-01-21| date = 2025-04-03| url = https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/us/politics/john-sauer-solicitor-general-abortion.html |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20250403190125/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/us/politics/john-sauer-solicitor-general-abortion.html| archivedate=2025-04-03}}</ref>
Sauer graduated from Duke University in 1997 with a double Bachelor of Arts in philosophy and Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering, ''summa cum laude''. He won a Rhodes Scholarship to study in England at the University of Oxford, where he earned a second Bachelor of Arts in theology from Oriel College, Oxford, in 1999.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1998-08-01 |title=Duke University Alumni Magazine |url=https://alumni.duke.edu/magazine/articles/duke-university-alumni-magazine-153 |access-date=2024-04-28 |website=Duke |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=December 9, 1996 |title=32 American College Students Are Named Rhodes Scholars |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/09/us/32-american-college-students-are-named-rhodes-scholars.html |access-date=November 17, 2018 |website=The New York Times|agency=Associated Press}}</ref>
In 2000, Sauer earned a Master of Arts in philosophy from the University of Notre Dame. He then attended Harvard Law School, where he became articles editor of the ''Harvard Law Review'', graduating in 2004 with a Juris Doctor, ''magna cum laude''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Parker |first=Shannon |date=January 29, 2009 |title=LN Ten Most Interesting: John Sauer |url=http://www.laduenews.com/business/features/ln-ten-most-interesting-john-sauer/article_6feeac21-3baa-5166-a56b-8d53230e1975.html/ |access-date=November 18, 2018 |website=Laude News}}</ref>
==Legal career == After law school, Sauer was a law clerk to Judge J. Michael Luttig of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from 2004 to 2005 and to U.S. Supreme Court justice Antonin Scalia from 2005 to 2006. He was in private practice at the law firm Cooper & Kirk from 2006 to 2008, then became an assistant United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.<ref name="h404">{{cite web | last=VanSickle | first=Abbie | title=Trump’s Pick to Argue at Supreme Court Made His Career in Culture Wars | website=The New York Times | date=April 3, 2025 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/03/us/politics/john-sauer-solicitor-general-abortion.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare | access-date=November 6, 2025}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=June 15, 2018 |title=WULS: Faculty Profiles |url=https://law.wustl.edu/faculty_profiles/profiles.aspx?id=1645 |access-date=November 11, 2018 |publisher=Washington University School of Law}}</ref> In the spring semesters between 2011 and 2013, he was an adjunct professor at the Washington University in St. Louis's law school.<ref>{{Cite web |title=UNITED STATES SENATE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY |url=https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/sauer_sjq.pdf}}</ref> He later reentered private practice.<ref name=":0" /> From 2013 to 2015, he was a partner at Clark & Sauer, LLC. In 2015, Sauer founded James Otis Law Group, which, according to Abbie VanSickle of ''The New York Times'', was named for James Otis Jr., "an early American lawyer who espoused limited government and opposed British measures that allowed law enforcement officials to search private property."<ref name="h404"/>
In 2015, Sauer defended a Catholic priest accused of sexually abusing children. Sauer helped the priest sue his accusers and the police officers who were involved.<ref name="Justia">{{Cite web |title=Jiang v. Porter et al |url=https://dockets.justia.com/docket/missouri/moedce/4:2015cv01008/140569 |website=Justia Dockets & Filings}}</ref> Prosecutors dropped all charges against the priest, whose record had been fully expunged as of June 17, 2015.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Abuse charges dropped against St. Louis priest |url=https://fox2now.com/news/abuse-charges-dropped-against-st-louis-priest/ |website=Fox2 Now |date=June 17, 2015 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=November 18, 2024 |archive-date=December 2, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241202230625/https://fox2now.com/news/abuse-charges-dropped-against-st-louis-priest/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | first=Jonah | last=McKeown | date=August 30, 2022|title=Priest to have arrest record expunged after abuse cases dropped | url=https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/252164/st-louis-priest-to-have-arrest-record-expunged-after-sexual-abuse-cases-dropped | agency=Catholic News Agency}}</ref> Sauer prevailed in the civil lawsuits related to the accusations.<ref name="Justia" />
===Missouri solicitor general=== In January 2017, then-Missouri attorney general Josh Hawley appointed Sauer Solicitor General of Missouri.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Mannies |first=Jo |date=February 10, 2017 |title=Missouri Attorney General Hawley addresses Democrats' residency concerns, rents apartment |url=http://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/missouri-attorney-general-hawley-addresses-democrats-residency-concerns-rents-apartment#stream/ |access-date=November 17, 2018 |website=KWMU}}</ref>
On December 10, 2020, as Solicitor General Counsel of Record, Sauer signed the "Motion of States of Missouri, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, and Utah to Intervene and Proposed Bill of Complaint in Intervention" in an attempt to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MOTION OF STATES OF MISSOURI, ARKANSAS, LOUISIANA, MISSISSIPPI, SOUTH CAROLINA, AND UTAH TO INTERVENE AND PROPOSED BILL OF COMPLAINT IN INTERVENTION, December 10, 2020 |url=http://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/22/22O155/163322/20201210115500103_2020-12-10%20-%20Motion%20to%20Intervene%20and%20Proposed%20Bill%20of%20Complaint%20-%20Final%20With%20Tables.pdf |website=Supreme Court of the United States}}</ref> The motion sought to intervene and join the Texas Bill of Complaint—filed by Texas attorney general Ken Paxton—to prevent the selection of presidential electors based upon the November election results in Pennsylvania, Georgia, Wisconsin, and Michigan.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AG Paxton Sues Battleground States for Unconstitutional Changes to 2020 Election Laws |url=https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/ag-paxton-sues-battleground-states-unconstitutional-changes-2020-election-laws |publisher=Office of the Attorney General of Texas}}</ref>
In January 2023, Missouri attorney general Andrew Bailey appointed Sauer Deputy Attorney General for Special Litigation.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Scott |last=Faughn |date=December 22, 2022 |title=Bailey brings on national conservative figure, Josh Divine as Solicitor General |url=https://themissouritimes.com/bailey-brings-on-national-conservative-figure-josh-divine-as-solicitor-general/ |website=The Missouri Times}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Missouri's new attorney general to be sworn-in today |website=93.9 the Eagle |url=https://939theeagle.com/missouris-new-attorney-general-to-be-sworn-in-today/ |date=November 23, 2022}}</ref> Sauer resigned from his post less than a month later, on January 27, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Jack |last=Crowe |date=January 27, 2023 |title=Legal Resistance to Biden Administration in Doubt as Powerhouse AG Offices Stumble |url=https://www.nationalreview.com/news/legal-resistance-to-biden-administration-in-doubt-as-powerhouse-ag-offices-stumble/ |website=National Review}}</ref>
In July 2023, Sauer testified before the United States House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government as Louisiana Department of Justice Special Assistant Attorney General.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 20, 2023 |title=Louisiana Department of Justice Special Assistant Attorney General D. John Sauer testifies during a House Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government hearing on Capitol Hill July 20, 2023. |url=https://www.alamy.com/louisiana-department-of-justice-special-assistant-attorney-general-d-john-sauer-testifies-during-a-house-select-subcommittee-on-the-weaponization-of-the-federal-government-hearing-on-capitol-hill-july-20-2023-francis-chungpolitico-via-ap-images-image558998965.html |access-date=January 12, 2024 |website=ALAMY}}</ref>
=== Representing Donald Trump === On January 9, 2024, Sauer appeared before a panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to argue on behalf of former president Donald Trump regarding his presidential immunity dispute. Trump's immunity dispute was a component of ''United States of America v. Donald J. Trump'', the federal criminal case concerning Trump's obstruction of the 2020 US presidential election.<ref>{{cite web|date=9 January 2024|url=https://www.c-span.org/video/?532581-1/district-columbia-circuit-court-oral-arguments-president-trumps-immunity-claims|title=District of Columbia Circuit Court Oral Arguments on Former President Trump's Immunity Claims|website=C-SPAN|accessdate=15 January 2024}}</ref>
At the hearing, in response to a hypothetical question posed by Judge Florence Y. Pan about whether a president could order SEAL Team Six to assassinate a political rival and be immune from prosecution,<ref>{{Cite web |last=Breuninger |first=Kevin |last2=Mangan |first2=Dan |date=January 9, 2024 |title=Trump Hearing Live Updates: Lawyer for ex-president argues immunity for official acts is absolute |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/09/trump-smith-face-off-in-court-on-election-case-immunity-claim.html |access-date=January 9, 2024 |website=CNBC |language=en}}</ref> Sauer argued that the impeachment clause in Article II § Section 4 of the US Constitution<ref>{{Cite web |title=ArtII.S4.1 Overview of Impeachment Clause |url=https://constitution.congress.gov/browse/essay/artII-S4-1/ALDE_00000282/ |access-date=January 12, 2024 |website=U.S. Congress}}</ref> implies that the US Senate must first impeach and convict an accused president before they can be criminally prosecuted, and that acquittal bars prosecution.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Adam |last=Liptak |authorlink=Adam Liptak |date=January 12, 2024 |title=Trump's Boldest Argument Yet: Immunity From Prosecution for Assassinations |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/10/us/politics/trump-immunity-prosecution-assassination.html |access-date=January 12, 2024 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> Sauer further stated that should the court accept the United States' position regarding the (lack) of presidential immunity, it "would authorize, for example, the indictment of President Biden in the Western District of Texas after he leaves office for mismanaging the border allegedly".<ref>{{Cite web |first1=Lawrence|last1=Hurley|first2=Daniel |last2=Barnes |first3=Ryan J. |last3=Reilly |date=January 9, 2024 |title=Judges skeptical of Trump's immunity appeal at court hearing in 2020 election interference case |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/appeals-court-weighs-trumps-immunity-claim-election-interference-case-rcna132281 |access-date=January 12, 2024 |website=NBC News}}</ref>
===U.S. solicitor general=== In November 2024, President-elect of the United States Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Sauer to serve as Solicitor General of the United States.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Peters |first=Gerhard |last2=Woolley |first2=John |title=Statement by President-elect Donald J. Trump Announcing the Nomination of Dean John Sauer as Solicitor General of the United States |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/statement-president-elect-donald-j-trump-announcing-the-nomination-dean-john-sauer |access-date=March 7, 2026 |website=The American Presidency Project}}</ref> His nomination was confirmed by the US Senate on April 4, 2025, by a vote of 52–45.<ref>{{Cite web |date=April 3, 2025 |title=PN12-39 - Nomination of Dean Sauer for Department of Justice, 119th Congress (2025-2026) |url=https://www.congress.gov/nomination/119th-congress/12/39 |access-date=April 7, 2025 |website=www.congress.gov}}</ref> He took office the same day.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2025-04-28 |title=Office of the Solicitor General {{!}} Solicitor General D. John Sauer {{!}} United States Department of Justice |url=https://www.justice.gov/osg/staff-profile/solicitor-general-john-sauer |access-date=2025-05-05 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}}</ref>
In May 2025, Sauer asked the US Supreme Court to include the Department of Government Efficiency as a "presidential advisory body" within the Executive Office of the President.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web| last = Sherman| first = Mark| title = Trump administration asks Supreme Court to block watchdog access to DOGE documents| work = AP News| access-date = 2025-05-22| date = 2025-05-21| url = https://apnews.com/article/supreme-court-doge-freedom-information-records-trump-14a1773b42ddad1e3367a39750a84bef}}</ref> In the same month, during oral arguments in ''Trump v. CASA,'' a case which concerned nationwide injunctions, Sauer stated to the Supreme Court regarding decisions from United States circuit courts that the executive branch "generally respect[s] circuit precedent, but not necessarily in every case".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Strawbridge Robinson |first1=Kimberly |title=Trump Solicitor General Hedges on Always Following Court Orders |url=https://news.bloomberglaw.com/white-collar-and-criminal-law/trumps-solicitor-general-again-wont-commit-to-obeying-courts |access-date=June 10, 2025 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20250610114223/https://news.bloomberglaw.com/white-collar-and-criminal-law/trumps-solicitor-general-again-wont-commit-to-obeying-courts |archive-date=June 10, 2025 |work=Bloomberg Law |date=May 16, 2025}}</ref>
On April 1, 2026, Sauer presented arguments to the Supreme Court in ''Trump v. Barbara'', arguing that birthright citizenship in the United States does not extend to children born in the United States whose parents are unlawfully present or in the country on temporary visas. Sauer argued that the Court faces a “new world” where "billions" are a plane ride away from obtaining US citizenship for their children. Chief Justice John Roberts responded with: “It’s a new world. It’s the same Constitution."<ref name="nytimes orals">{{cite news |last1=Liptak |first1=Adam |last2=Marimow |first2=Ann E. |date=April 1, 2026 |title=Five Takeaways From the Birthright Citizenship Argument |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/01/us/politics/scotus-birthright-citizenship-takeaways.html |accessdate=April 4, 2026 |work=The New York Times}}</ref>
== See also == * List of law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States (Seat 9) * List of Rhodes Scholars
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * [https://www.oyez.org/advocates/d_john_sauer Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court] from the Oyez Project * {{C-SPAN|117247}}
{{s-start}} {{s-legal}} {{s-bef|before=Sarah M. Harris<br>Acting}} {{s-ttl|title={{nowrap|Solicitor General of the United States}}|years=2025–present}} {{s-inc}} {{s-end}}
{{USSolGen}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauer, Dean John}} Category:1974 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American lawyers Category:American Rhodes Scholars Category:Assistant United States attorneys Category:Duke University Pratt School of Engineering alumni Category:Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences alumni Category:Harvard Law School alumni Category:Law clerks of J. Michael Luttig Category:Law clerks of the Supreme Court of the United States Category:Lawyers from St. Louis Category:Second Trump administration personnel Category:Solicitors general of Missouri Category:Solicitors general of the United States Category:University of Notre Dame alumni Category:Washington University in St. Louis faculty Category:Donald Trump attorneys Category:Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford