Trump names former Missouri official D. John Sauer as US solicitor general
ST. LOUIS — D. John Sauer, a former top official in the Missouri attorney general's office, was picked Thursday to be U.S. solicitor general by President-elect Donald Trump.
Sauer, who grew up in the St. Louis area and lives in Town and Country, was lead counsel in Trump's successful legal efforts to get the U.S. Supreme Court to expand presidential immunity.
He was Missouri solicitor general from 2017 through 2022 under Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt, Republicans who both moved from serving as state attorney general to win election to the U.S. Senate.
More recently, Sauer was a significant donor to the campaign opposing a Missouri constitutional amendment to legalize abortion, which was approved in last week's election. He contributed at least $777,000 this year to organizations opposed to Amendment 3, state records show.
He also has been an assistant U.S. attorney and in a private law practice here. His father, Fred Sauer, ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for governor in 2012.
Trump, in a statement issued by his transition team, called the Supreme Court decision on immunity "key to defeating the unConstitutional campaign of Lawfare against me and the entire MAGA movement."
The high court's 6-3 decision in July also extended the delay in a Washington criminal case against Trump on charges that he plotted to overturn his 2020 presidential election loss and ended prospects that he could be tried before this year's election.
The ruling narrowed the case against Trump and returned it to the trial court to determine what was left of special counsel Jack Smith's indictment. Trump has denied doing anything wrong.
Schmitt, in a social media post, called Sauer "a legit genius" and "an incredible lawyer" who will be a great U.S. solicitor general.
In that role, Sauer will represent Trump's incoming administration before the Supreme Court.
Jefferson City attorney Chuck Hatfield, who served as chief of staff and counsel under former Democratic Attorney General Jay Nixon, said Sauer is one of the hardest-working lawyers he has encountered.
"He's responsive, attentive, very professional," Hatfield said.
During Sauer's tenure at the attorney general's office, the two squared off in high-stakes battles over the licensing and funding of Planned Parenthood clinics in St. Louis. They also jousted over the expansion of Medicaid.
Sauer lost those cases, but Hatfield said he'd earned his respect.
"I think he is passionately pro-life to his core. He is willing to push the limits of the law," Hatfield said.
Trump in his statement said Sauer was a Rhodes Scholar and graduate of Harvard Law School and Duke University. He also was a Supreme Court clerk for the late Justice Antonin Scalia. He lived in Creve Coeur as a child and graduated from St. Louis Priory School.
The Associated Press and Kurt Erickson of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report
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