After Dawn Johnsen dropped out, folks have been wondering whether Obama would replace her with an individual would give him more power on the executive authority front.
That question is still unknown. But what is known as to who the top candidate for the position and is likely going to be nominated by the administration.
Her name is Virginia A. Seitz: Virginia Seitz, likely new OLC Head
Per NPR, here's some information on her:
Seitz was educated at Duke University, from which she was graduated summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, with distinction in History; Oxford University, where she was a Rhodes Scholar; and University at Buffalo Law School, where she was the class of 1985's valedictorian. From 1986 to 1987, she clerked for the late Supreme Court Justice William J. Brennan, Jr.
According to NPR's Carrie Johnson, Seitz is an expert on constitutional law, regularly called upon to argue cases before federal appeals courts.
She's a Constitutional Law Expert and her academic background looks stellar. In fact, it actually looks better than Dawn Johnsen's. She was apparently on President Obama's really long list for potential Supreme Court nominees and getting her confirmed may actually provide a stepping stone for that position. Legal Times thinks Virginia Seitz is on Obama's Supreme Court List
Of course, Garland isn't the only name being floated for the high court. Legal Times reports that some appellate specialists from The Am Law 100 are also getting attention: Wilmer's Seth Waxman and Sidley Austin's Virginia Seitz.
MainJustice, a legal website is also speculating that the reason why she was chosen was because Republicans had already approved her nomination previously. There is no change in position here, this isn't a lifetime one, they would have no reason to complain about that.
Seitz, like Johnsen, is a member of the American Constitution Society, a left-leaning legal society. But, unlike the former OLC nominee, the Sidley Austin partner has secured Republican support in the past for an appointment.
She was appointed by Republican and Democratic congressional leaders to serve five years on the Board of Directors of the Congressional Office of Compliance, which handles disputes between members of Congress and their staffers.
Here's a video of her on a panel with ACS, a lefty legal group engaging in a talk on Women and the Supreme Court.
Overall, she seems to be an impressive pick, though I'm still unsure where she stands on executive power.