Stephen Vaden

Stephen Vaden
United States Deputy Secretary of Agriculture
Presumptive nominee
Assuming office
PresidentDonald Trump (elect)
SucceedingXochitl Torres Small
Judge of the United States Court of International Trade
Incumbent
Assumed office
December 21, 2020
Appointed byDonald Trump
Preceded byDelissa A. Ridgway
Personal details
Born
Stephen Alexander Vaden

(1982-05-15) May 15, 1982 (age 42)
Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
Political partyRepublican
EducationVanderbilt University (BA)
Yale University (JD)

Stephen Alexander Vaden (born May 15, 1982)[1] is a United States judge of the United States Court of International Trade.

Education

Vaden graduated from Union City High School as the valedictorian of the class of 2000.[2] He earned a Bachelor of Arts from Vanderbilt University and a Juris Doctor from Yale Law School.[3]

After graduating from law school, Vaden served as a law clerk to Judge Julia Smith Gibbons of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit and to Judge Samuel H. Mays Jr. of the United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee. Vaden has practiced law at Patton Boggs and Jones Day, specializing in appellate litigation, election law, and administrative law.[3][4]

General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture

Vaden served on the first Trump Administration's United States Department of Agriculture landing team.[5] He was appointed Principal Deputy General Counsel of the department on March 17, 2017, succeeding Lee Fink.

On September 2, 2017, Vaden was nominated to be the General Counsel for the United States Department of Agriculture.[3] He was confirmed by the United States Senate on November 27, 2018 by a 53–46 vote, and was sworn in on December 14, 2018.[6] He left the Department after being commissioned as a Judge of the Court of International Trade.

Trade Court service

On October 2, 2019, President Trump announced his intent to nominate Vaden to the United States Court of International Trade.[7] On October 17, 2019, his nomination was sent to the Senate. President Trump nominated Vaden to the seat vacated by Judge Delissa A. Ridgway, who assumed senior status on January 31, 2019.[8] A hearing on his nomination before the Senate Judiciary Committee was held on November 13, 2019.[9] On January 3, 2020, his nomination was returned to the President under Rule XXXI, Paragraph 6 of the United States Senate.[10] Later that day, he was re-nominated to the same seat.[11] On January 16, 2020, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 12–10 vote.[12] On November 18, 2020, the Senate invoked cloture on his nomination by a 49–44 vote.[13] His nomination was confirmed later that day by a 49–43 vote.[14] He received his judicial commission on December 21, 2020.[15]

References

  1. ^ "House Resolution 19" (PDF). Tennessee House of Representatives.
  2. ^ Senate Joint Resolution 900 to recognize Stephen Alexander Vaden, 2000 Valedictorian of Union City High School., Tennessee Senate, filed June 7, 2000. Accessed December 20, 2022. "Whereas, Stephen Alexander Vaden is one such exceptional student who was recently named valedictorian of the 2000 graduating class at Union City High School"
  3. ^ a b c "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Personnel to Key Administration Posts". whitehouse.gov. September 2, 2017. Retrieved September 14, 2017 – via National Archives. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  4. ^ Polantz, Katelyn (September 8, 2017). "DC Judge's Best Trial Tips, Government Lawyers Flock to Firms, Mueller's Hotline". The National Law Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  5. ^ Scarcella, Mike (September 13, 2017). "Ex-Jones Day Associate Is Trump's Pick for USDA General Counsel". The National Law Journal. Retrieved September 14, 2017.
  6. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation Stephen Alexander Vaden, of Tennessee, to be General Counsel of the Department of Agriculture)". US Senate. United States Senate. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
  7. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Judicial Nominees" White House, October 2, 2019 Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  8. ^ "Eighteen Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, October 17, 2019
  9. ^ United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary: Nominations for November 13, 2019
  10. ^ "PN1244 - Nomination of Stephen A. Vaden for The Judiciary, 116th Congress (2019-2020)". www.congress.gov. January 3, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  11. ^ "Four Nominations Sent to the Senate", White House, January 3, 2020
  12. ^ "Results of Executive Business Meeting – January 16, 2020" (PDF). Senate Judiciary Committee.
  13. ^ "On the Cloture Motion (Motion to Invoke Cloture: Stephen A. Vaden, of Tennessee, to be a Judge of the United States Court of International Trade)". United States Senate. November 18, 2020.
  14. ^ "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Stephen A. Vaden, of Tennessee, to be a Judge of the United States Court of International Trade)". United States Senate. November 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Stephen Vaden at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.
Legal offices
Preceded by Judge of the United States Court of International Trade
2020–present 		Incumbent