Trump picks Ohio solicitor general and a former defense attorney for top DOJ spots

President Trump announced Wednesday that he will nominate the solicitor general of Ohio and a former defense attorney to lead high-profile offices at the Justice Department.

The president will nominate Stanley Woodward, a defense attorney who represented several of Mr. Trump’s top aides and associates as well as people charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, to serve as associate attorney general. It is the third-highest-ranking position at the Justice Department and oversees all non-criminal matters. 

Mr. Trump will also nominate T. Elliot Gaiser, who is currently the solicitor general of Ohio, to head the Justice Department Office of Legal Counsel. The position traditionally has the final say on legal debates within the executive branch by issuing authoritative interpretations of the law through opinions. Its decisions are binding unless overridden by the attorney general or the president doesn’t take its advice.

Both positions were the center of many legal disputes and drama during Mr. Trump’s first term. In 2017, he named Jesse Panuccio as acting associate attorney general and he served as a trusted adviser to Attorney General Jeff Sessions. However, after Mr. Trump fired Mr. Sessions and replaced him with William Barr, Mr. Panuccio resigned from the position. He was succeeded by former White House official Claire McCusker Murray.

The Solicitor General’s Office during Mr. Trump’s first term authored the legal memorandum ordering the targeted killing of a top Iranian official and barring Congress from accessing Mr. Trump’s tax returns.

Mr. Woodward is currently an assistant and senior counselor to Mr. Trump. As a private practice attorney, he has represented multiple people in Mr. Trump’s circle, including adviser Dan Scavino, trade adviser Peter Navarro and aide Walt Nauta. Mr. Woodward has also represented some of the defendants charged in the Jan. 6 attack, including Oath Keeper Kelly Meggs.

Previously, Mr. Woodward worked at a multinational law firm where his experience included the representation of multiple international corporations in defense of alleged violations of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act, as well as serving as coordinating counsel to companies involved in nationwide federal litigation.

Mr. Gaiser was appointed as Ohio’s solicitor position by state Attorney General Dave Yost in October 2023. He clerked for Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. during the Supreme Court’s 2021-22 term when Justice Alito wrote the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade. He also clerked with several prominent judges, who had been appointed by Republican presidents, on the appellate courts.

In February, Mr. Gaiser argued before the Supreme Court defending a state agency from a lawsuit by a heterosexual woman who said she lost her position to gay colleagues.