Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Partner, Clement & Murphy, PLLC
Paul served as the 43rd Solicitor General of the United States from June 2005 until June 2008. Before his confirmation as Solicitor General, he served as Acting Solicitor General for nearly a year and as Principal Deputy Solicitor General for over three years.
Paul has argued over 100 cases before the United States Supreme Court, including McConnell v. FEC, Tennessee v. Lane, United States v. Booker, MGM v. Grokster, Hobby Lobby v. Burwell, Epic Systems Corp. v. Lewis, Rucho v. Common Cause, Facebook v. Duguid, and TransUnion v. Ramirez. Paul has argued more Supreme Court cases since 2000 than any lawyer in or out of government. He has also argued many important cases in the lower courts, including Walker v. Cheney, United States v. Moussaoui and NFL v. Brady.
Paul’s practice focuses on appellate matters, constitutional litigation and strategic counseling. He represents a broad array of clients in the Supreme Court and in federal and state appellate courts. Last year, for example, he successfully argued Supreme Court cases involving significant issues of energy regulation, statutory interpretation, state sovereign immunity and Article III standing, and successfully argued a trademark appeal in the Fourth Circuit, and a constitutional appeal before the en banc Eleventh Circuit.
Paul focuses on high-stakes appeals. In recent years, he successfully defended a $1.2 billion jury verdict for clients in a Tenth Circuit case, while securing the reversal of an over $2 billion jury verdict for another client in the Seventh Circuit and the approval of a nearly $1 billion dollar class action settlement in the Third Circuit. He has initiated major administrative law challenges and constitutional litigation against the federal government, such as the successful challenge to the HHS drug-pricing rule and threatened challenges that led to the withdrawal of the Treasury Department’s proposed cryptocurrency regulations. He also counsels clients on a variety of strategic legal questions, whether arising from pending legislation, government inquiries or ongoing litigation.
Paul has undertaken substantial pro bono engagements in the Supreme Court, such as twice successfully representing the defendant in Bond v. United States and successfully representing the Omaha Tribe in Nebraska v. Parker, the guardian ad litem in Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, the defendant in Sekhar v. United States, a high school football coach in Kennedy v. Bremerton, and the Little Sisters of the Poor. Paul’s pro bono representation also precipitated the federal government’s confession of error in United States v. Rojas.
Following law school, Paul clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit and for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia of the U.S. Supreme Court. After his clerkships, he went on to serve as Chief Counsel of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights.
Paul is a Distinguished Lecturer in Law at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he has taught in various capacities since 1998. He also serves as a Senior Fellow of the Law Center’s Supreme Court Institute. He is the Justice Joseph Story Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Gray Center at Scalia Law School.
Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Co-Director, Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State
Adam J. White is the Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on the Supreme Court and the administrative state. Concurrently, he codirects the Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State.
Mr. White practiced constitutional and administrative law, particularly in the regulation of energy and financial markets. He started his legal career as a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Mr. White has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Affairs, Commentary, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. He is a regular contributor to the Yale Journal on Regulation’s Notice and Comment blog, and for many years, he was one of the Weekly Standard’s lead writers on constitutional law and the Supreme Court.
Mr. White has testified often before Congress, including before the Senate’s Committees on the Judiciary; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and before the House’s Judiciary and Financial Services Committees. In 2018, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary called him to testify in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings to advise senators on Kavanaugh’s approach to administrative law.
In 2021, he served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, where he criticized “Court packing” and other efforts to restructure the Supreme Court. In 2017, he was appointed to serve on the Administrative Conference of the United States. He also serves on the leadership council for the American Bar Association’s Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section, which he will chair in 2023–24. Before joining AEI, he was a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Mr. White has a JD from Harvard Law School and a bachelor of business administration from the College of Business at the University of Iowa.
Deputy Secretary of Transportation, US Department of Transportation
Steven G. Bradbury was sworn in as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on March 13, 2025, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on March 11, 2025. In this role, he oversees the Department’s operating administrations and spearheads initiatives to ensure a safe, efficient, and modern transportation system that strengthens economic productivity and global competitiveness. Deputy Secretary Bradbury also assists Secretary Duffy in managing the Department’s activities, including its workforce of over 58,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $109 billion.
Bradbury previously served as the 23rd General Counsel of the Department of Transportation from 2017 to 2021, as the Acting Deputy Secretary from 2019, and as Acting Secretary of Transportation in 2021. As General Counsel, he was the chief legal officer, advising on all legal matters and ensuring the integrity and compliance of the Department’s policies and programs.
Before rejoining DOT, Bradbury was a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation from December 2022 to March 2025. He has extensive experience in the public and private sector, having served as Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice and as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Dechert LLP. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge James L. Buckley.
Bradbury holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in English from Stanford University.
Partner, Baker Botts
George Fibbe represents clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory matters, focusing on high-stakes matters across the energy sector. Before joining Baker Botts, he served as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation & Enforcement for the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Fibbe is a commercial trial attorney who practiced with Yetter Coleman, LLP in Houston for over ten years. He then served as head of litigation for the petroleum division of an international mining corporation. Before joining the Department of Energy, he served as General Counsel for a private solar company.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Citigroup
Brent McIntosh joined Citi as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in October 2021. Brent leads Citi's global legal team, including Citi security and investigative services, and oversees Citi’s independent compliance risk management function.
Brent served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He led the Treasury Department’s engagement in the G7 and G20, represented the United States on the Financial Stability Board, and managed U.S. participation at the IMF and World Bank. He oversaw Treasury’s international economic and financial policy work, including significant engagements on investment security and regulation of digital currencies. During 2020, he coordinated initiatives to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic consequences.
From 2017 to 2019, Brent served as Treasury’s General Counsel, leading the department’s approximately 2,000 lawyers and spearheading its regulatory reform efforts. Prior to that, he was a partner in the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where his practice focused on complex disputes involving financial institutions and multinational corporations.
Brent served in the White House from 2006 until 2009, first as Associate Counsel to the President and then as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary. Before that, he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department, where his work focused on national security matters.
A Michigan native, Brent holds an A.B. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Following law school, he was a law clerk to two federal appellate judges, Dennis Jacobs of the Second Circuit and Laurence H. Silberman of the D.C. Circuit. Brent serves on the Board of Directors of the Alexander Hamilton Society, the Board of Advisors for the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, and the Advisory Council of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he previously served as an Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics and Finance, as well as the Bretton Woods Committee and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Leopold is a Partner with the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC. He is the former Senate-confirmed general counsel of the U.S. EPA from 2018-2020, and he previously was a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division form 2007-2013. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of EPA’s most significant rulemakings, including the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and the Safe Affordable Fuel‐Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, as well as several pesticide actions. He was personally involved in defending EPA in litigation, including the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Leopold’s prior government service also includes working in Florida as general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He now represents clients in regulatory advocacy before federal agencies, litigates federal environmental actions, and defends clients with EPA enforcement issues.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Deputy Secretary of Transportation, US Department of Transportation
Steven G. Bradbury was sworn in as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on March 13, 2025, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on March 11, 2025. In this role, he oversees the Department’s operating administrations and spearheads initiatives to ensure a safe, efficient, and modern transportation system that strengthens economic productivity and global competitiveness. Deputy Secretary Bradbury also assists Secretary Duffy in managing the Department’s activities, including its workforce of over 58,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $109 billion.
Bradbury previously served as the 23rd General Counsel of the Department of Transportation from 2017 to 2021, as the Acting Deputy Secretary from 2019, and as Acting Secretary of Transportation in 2021. As General Counsel, he was the chief legal officer, advising on all legal matters and ensuring the integrity and compliance of the Department’s policies and programs.
Before rejoining DOT, Bradbury was a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation from December 2022 to March 2025. He has extensive experience in the public and private sector, having served as Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice and as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Dechert LLP. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge James L. Buckley.
Bradbury holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in English from Stanford University.
Partner, Baker Botts
George Fibbe represents clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory matters, focusing on high-stakes matters across the energy sector. Before joining Baker Botts, he served as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation & Enforcement for the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Fibbe is a commercial trial attorney who practiced with Yetter Coleman, LLP in Houston for over ten years. He then served as head of litigation for the petroleum division of an international mining corporation. Before joining the Department of Energy, he served as General Counsel for a private solar company.
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Leopold is a Partner with the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC. He is the former Senate-confirmed general counsel of the U.S. EPA from 2018-2020, and he previously was a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division form 2007-2013. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of EPA’s most significant rulemakings, including the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and the Safe Affordable Fuel‐Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, as well as several pesticide actions. He was personally involved in defending EPA in litigation, including the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Leopold’s prior government service also includes working in Florida as general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He now represents clients in regulatory advocacy before federal agencies, litigates federal environmental actions, and defends clients with EPA enforcement issues.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Citigroup
Brent McIntosh joined Citi as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in October 2021. Brent leads Citi's global legal team, including Citi security and investigative services, and oversees Citi’s independent compliance risk management function.
Brent served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He led the Treasury Department’s engagement in the G7 and G20, represented the United States on the Financial Stability Board, and managed U.S. participation at the IMF and World Bank. He oversaw Treasury’s international economic and financial policy work, including significant engagements on investment security and regulation of digital currencies. During 2020, he coordinated initiatives to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic consequences.
From 2017 to 2019, Brent served as Treasury’s General Counsel, leading the department’s approximately 2,000 lawyers and spearheading its regulatory reform efforts. Prior to that, he was a partner in the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where his practice focused on complex disputes involving financial institutions and multinational corporations.
Brent served in the White House from 2006 until 2009, first as Associate Counsel to the President and then as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary. Before that, he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department, where his work focused on national security matters.
A Michigan native, Brent holds an A.B. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Following law school, he was a law clerk to two federal appellate judges, Dennis Jacobs of the Second Circuit and Laurence H. Silberman of the D.C. Circuit. Brent serves on the Board of Directors of the Alexander Hamilton Society, the Board of Advisors for the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, and the Advisory Council of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he previously served as an Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics and Finance, as well as the Bretton Woods Committee and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Co-Director, Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State
Adam J. White is the Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on the Supreme Court and the administrative state. Concurrently, he codirects the Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State.
Mr. White practiced constitutional and administrative law, particularly in the regulation of energy and financial markets. He started his legal career as a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Mr. White has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Affairs, Commentary, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. He is a regular contributor to the Yale Journal on Regulation’s Notice and Comment blog, and for many years, he was one of the Weekly Standard’s lead writers on constitutional law and the Supreme Court.
Mr. White has testified often before Congress, including before the Senate’s Committees on the Judiciary; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and before the House’s Judiciary and Financial Services Committees. In 2018, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary called him to testify in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings to advise senators on Kavanaugh’s approach to administrative law.
In 2021, he served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, where he criticized “Court packing” and other efforts to restructure the Supreme Court. In 2017, he was appointed to serve on the Administrative Conference of the United States. He also serves on the leadership council for the American Bar Association’s Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section, which he will chair in 2023–24. Before joining AEI, he was a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Mr. White has a JD from Harvard Law School and a bachelor of business administration from the College of Business at the University of Iowa.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Deputy Secretary of Transportation, US Department of Transportation
Steven G. Bradbury was sworn in as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on March 13, 2025, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on March 11, 2025. In this role, he oversees the Department’s operating administrations and spearheads initiatives to ensure a safe, efficient, and modern transportation system that strengthens economic productivity and global competitiveness. Deputy Secretary Bradbury also assists Secretary Duffy in managing the Department’s activities, including its workforce of over 58,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $109 billion.
Bradbury previously served as the 23rd General Counsel of the Department of Transportation from 2017 to 2021, as the Acting Deputy Secretary from 2019, and as Acting Secretary of Transportation in 2021. As General Counsel, he was the chief legal officer, advising on all legal matters and ensuring the integrity and compliance of the Department’s policies and programs.
Before rejoining DOT, Bradbury was a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation from December 2022 to March 2025. He has extensive experience in the public and private sector, having served as Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice and as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Dechert LLP. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge James L. Buckley.
Bradbury holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in English from Stanford University.
Partner, Baker Botts
George Fibbe represents clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory matters, focusing on high-stakes matters across the energy sector. Before joining Baker Botts, he served as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation & Enforcement for the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Fibbe is a commercial trial attorney who practiced with Yetter Coleman, LLP in Houston for over ten years. He then served as head of litigation for the petroleum division of an international mining corporation. Before joining the Department of Energy, he served as General Counsel for a private solar company.
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Leopold is a Partner with the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC. He is the former Senate-confirmed general counsel of the U.S. EPA from 2018-2020, and he previously was a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division form 2007-2013. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of EPA’s most significant rulemakings, including the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and the Safe Affordable Fuel‐Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, as well as several pesticide actions. He was personally involved in defending EPA in litigation, including the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Leopold’s prior government service also includes working in Florida as general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He now represents clients in regulatory advocacy before federal agencies, litigates federal environmental actions, and defends clients with EPA enforcement issues.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Citigroup
Brent McIntosh joined Citi as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in October 2021. Brent leads Citi's global legal team, including Citi security and investigative services, and oversees Citi’s independent compliance risk management function.
Brent served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He led the Treasury Department’s engagement in the G7 and G20, represented the United States on the Financial Stability Board, and managed U.S. participation at the IMF and World Bank. He oversaw Treasury’s international economic and financial policy work, including significant engagements on investment security and regulation of digital currencies. During 2020, he coordinated initiatives to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic consequences.
From 2017 to 2019, Brent served as Treasury’s General Counsel, leading the department’s approximately 2,000 lawyers and spearheading its regulatory reform efforts. Prior to that, he was a partner in the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where his practice focused on complex disputes involving financial institutions and multinational corporations.
Brent served in the White House from 2006 until 2009, first as Associate Counsel to the President and then as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary. Before that, he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department, where his work focused on national security matters.
A Michigan native, Brent holds an A.B. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Following law school, he was a law clerk to two federal appellate judges, Dennis Jacobs of the Second Circuit and Laurence H. Silberman of the D.C. Circuit. Brent serves on the Board of Directors of the Alexander Hamilton Society, the Board of Advisors for the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, and the Advisory Council of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he previously served as an Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics and Finance, as well as the Bretton Woods Committee and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Co-Director, Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State
Adam J. White is the Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on the Supreme Court and the administrative state. Concurrently, he codirects the Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State.
Mr. White practiced constitutional and administrative law, particularly in the regulation of energy and financial markets. He started his legal career as a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Mr. White has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Affairs, Commentary, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. He is a regular contributor to the Yale Journal on Regulation’s Notice and Comment blog, and for many years, he was one of the Weekly Standard’s lead writers on constitutional law and the Supreme Court.
Mr. White has testified often before Congress, including before the Senate’s Committees on the Judiciary; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and before the House’s Judiciary and Financial Services Committees. In 2018, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary called him to testify in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings to advise senators on Kavanaugh’s approach to administrative law.
In 2021, he served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, where he criticized “Court packing” and other efforts to restructure the Supreme Court. In 2017, he was appointed to serve on the Administrative Conference of the United States. He also serves on the leadership council for the American Bar Association’s Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section, which he will chair in 2023–24. Before joining AEI, he was a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Mr. White has a JD from Harvard Law School and a bachelor of business administration from the College of Business at the University of Iowa.
President, Harned Strategies LLC
Karen Harned is President at Harned Strategies LLC. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, a post she held from 2002-2022. Prior to joining the Legal Center, Ms. Harned was an attorney at a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in food and drug law, where she represented several small and large businesses and their respective trade associations before Congress and federal agencies. She also served as Assistant Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma from August of 1989 to March of 1993. Ms. Harned received her B.A. from the University of Oklahoma in 1989 and her J.D. from The George Washington University National Law Center in 1995. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.
As Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, Ms. Harned commented regularly on small business cases before federal and state courts, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. She has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, NBC Nightly News, CNN, CNBC and MSNBC, as well as National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and radio outlets across the country. Her opinion editorials and articles regarding healthcare, lawsuit abuse, regulation, and other issues important to small business have been published in newspapers and other publications nationwide.
Ms. Harned has testified before Congress on the small business impact of regulation and the civil justice system. Additionally, she has conducted numerous webinars and legal compliance seminars for small business owners across the country on issues relating to employment law, including unionization and immigration.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Andrew Varcoe was formerly a partner at Boyden Gray & Associates in Washington, D.C. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Varcoe was Deputy General Counsel at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the trade association for the biotechnology industry. He previously served as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. While at USDA, he briefed, argued, and mediated cases in the federal courts of appeals and helped manage USDA’s and its agencies’ nationwide appellate litigation docket, working closely with trial and appellate lawyers at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before joining USDA, Mr. Varcoe was an associate and then counsel at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (previously Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering). Mr. Varcoe served as a law clerk to Justice Francis X. Spina of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (from 1999 to 2000), and to Judge Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (from 2001 to 2002).
Mr. Varcoe received his J.D. cum laude in 1999 from Harvard Law School, where he was a research assistant to Professor Martha Minow and an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Mr. Varcoe graduated with honors in 1995 from the University of Chicago, where he was Student Ombudsperson (a mediator, reporting to the President of the University, who investigated and resolved student grievances) and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
In 2018 and 2019, Mr. Varcoe served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Practice Group.
President, Harned Strategies LLC
Karen Harned is President at Harned Strategies LLC. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the National Federation of Independent Business Small Business Legal Center, a post she held from 2002-2022. Prior to joining the Legal Center, Ms. Harned was an attorney at a Washington, D.C. law firm specializing in food and drug law, where she represented several small and large businesses and their respective trade associations before Congress and federal agencies. She also served as Assistant Press Secretary to U.S. Senator Don Nickles of Oklahoma from August of 1989 to March of 1993. Ms. Harned received her B.A. from the University of Oklahoma in 1989 and her J.D. from The George Washington University National Law Center in 1995. She is admitted to practice in the District of Columbia.
As Executive Director of the NFIB Small Business Legal Center, Ms. Harned commented regularly on small business cases before federal and state courts, as well as the U.S. Supreme Court. She has appeared on Fox News, Fox Business, NBC Nightly News, CNN, CNBC and MSNBC, as well as National Public Radio, CBS Radio, and radio outlets across the country. Her opinion editorials and articles regarding healthcare, lawsuit abuse, regulation, and other issues important to small business have been published in newspapers and other publications nationwide.
Ms. Harned has testified before Congress on the small business impact of regulation and the civil justice system. Additionally, she has conducted numerous webinars and legal compliance seminars for small business owners across the country on issues relating to employment law, including unionization and immigration.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Andrew Varcoe was formerly a partner at Boyden Gray & Associates in Washington, D.C. From 2014 to 2017, Mr. Varcoe was Deputy General Counsel at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the trade association for the biotechnology industry. He previously served as an attorney in the Office of the General Counsel of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) in Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. While at USDA, he briefed, argued, and mediated cases in the federal courts of appeals and helped manage USDA’s and its agencies’ nationwide appellate litigation docket, working closely with trial and appellate lawyers at the U.S. Department of Justice. Before joining USDA, Mr. Varcoe was an associate and then counsel at Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP (previously Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering). Mr. Varcoe served as a law clerk to Justice Francis X. Spina of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court (from 1999 to 2000), and to Judge Edith H. Jones of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit (from 2001 to 2002).
Mr. Varcoe received his J.D. cum laude in 1999 from Harvard Law School, where he was a research assistant to Professor Martha Minow and an editor of the Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy. Mr. Varcoe graduated with honors in 1995 from the University of Chicago, where he was Student Ombudsperson (a mediator, reporting to the President of the University, who investigated and resolved student grievances) and a member of Phi Beta Kappa.
In 2018 and 2019, Mr. Varcoe served as Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Federalist Society’s Environmental Law and Property Rights Practice Group.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Deputy Secretary of Transportation, US Department of Transportation
Steven G. Bradbury was sworn in as the Deputy Secretary of Transportation on March 13, 2025, following his confirmation by the U.S. Senate on March 11, 2025. In this role, he oversees the Department’s operating administrations and spearheads initiatives to ensure a safe, efficient, and modern transportation system that strengthens economic productivity and global competitiveness. Deputy Secretary Bradbury also assists Secretary Duffy in managing the Department’s activities, including its workforce of over 58,000 employees and an annual budget exceeding $109 billion.
Bradbury previously served as the 23rd General Counsel of the Department of Transportation from 2017 to 2021, as the Acting Deputy Secretary from 2019, and as Acting Secretary of Transportation in 2021. As General Counsel, he was the chief legal officer, advising on all legal matters and ensuring the integrity and compliance of the Department’s policies and programs.
Before rejoining DOT, Bradbury was a Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation from December 2022 to March 2025. He has extensive experience in the public and private sector, having served as Principal Deputy and Acting Assistant Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice and as a partner at Kirkland & Ellis LLP and Dechert LLP. Earlier in his career, he clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge James L. Buckley.
Bradbury holds a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of Michigan Law School and a B.A. in English from Stanford University.
Partner, Baker Botts
George Fibbe represents clients in complex commercial disputes and regulatory matters, focusing on high-stakes matters across the energy sector. Before joining Baker Botts, he served as the Deputy General Counsel for Litigation, Regulation & Enforcement for the U.S. Department of Energy. Mr. Fibbe is a commercial trial attorney who practiced with Yetter Coleman, LLP in Houston for over ten years. He then served as head of litigation for the petroleum division of an international mining corporation. Before joining the Department of Energy, he served as General Counsel for a private solar company.
Partner, Hunton Andrews Kurth
Mr. Leopold is a Partner with the law firm of Hunton Andrews Kurth in Washington, DC. He is the former Senate-confirmed general counsel of the U.S. EPA from 2018-2020, and he previously was a litigator at the U.S. Department of Justice, Environment and Natural Resources Division form 2007-2013. As EPA General Counsel, he counseled on the development and defense of EPA’s most significant rulemakings, including the Affordable Clean Energy Rule, the Navigable Waters Protection Rule, and the Safe Affordable Fuel‐Efficient (SAFE) Vehicles Rule, as well as several pesticide actions. He was personally involved in defending EPA in litigation, including the County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund in the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Leopold’s prior government service also includes working in Florida as general counsel of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. He now represents clients in regulatory advocacy before federal agencies, litigates federal environmental actions, and defends clients with EPA enforcement issues.
General Counsel and Corporate Secretary, Citigroup
Brent McIntosh joined Citi as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary in October 2021. Brent leads Citi's global legal team, including Citi security and investigative services, and oversees Citi’s independent compliance risk management function.
Brent served as Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs from 2019 to 2021. He led the Treasury Department’s engagement in the G7 and G20, represented the United States on the Financial Stability Board, and managed U.S. participation at the IMF and World Bank. He oversaw Treasury’s international economic and financial policy work, including significant engagements on investment security and regulation of digital currencies. During 2020, he coordinated initiatives to alleviate the COVID-19 pandemic’s economic consequences.
From 2017 to 2019, Brent served as Treasury’s General Counsel, leading the department’s approximately 2,000 lawyers and spearheading its regulatory reform efforts. Prior to that, he was a partner in the law firm of Sullivan & Cromwell, where his practice focused on complex disputes involving financial institutions and multinational corporations.
Brent served in the White House from 2006 until 2009, first as Associate Counsel to the President and then as Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Staff Secretary. Before that, he was a Deputy Assistant Attorney General at the Justice Department, where his work focused on national security matters.
A Michigan native, Brent holds an A.B. in economics and political science from the University of Michigan and a J.D. from Yale Law School. Following law school, he was a law clerk to two federal appellate judges, Dennis Jacobs of the Second Circuit and Laurence H. Silberman of the D.C. Circuit. Brent serves on the Board of Directors of the Alexander Hamilton Society, the Board of Advisors for the National Security Institute at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia Law School, and the Advisory Council of the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, where he previously served as an Adjunct Senior Fellow for International Economics and Finance, as well as the Bretton Woods Committee and the International Institute for Strategic Studies.
Executive Vice President, The Federalist Society
Dean Reuter is Executive Vice President at the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies. He has served in two federal government agency Offices of the Inspector General, as Counsel to the Inspector General and Deputy Inspector General, responsible for policing the use of federal funds granted and contracted through those agencies. As such, he helped conduct and oversee criminal investigations across the country. He is the principal author of the non-fiction book, The Hidden Nazi: The Untold Story of America's Deal with the Devil, and editor of Liberty’s Nemesis: The Unchecked Expansion of the State and Confronting Terror: 9/11 and the Future of American National Security. He was appointed by the President and served as Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Corporation for National and Community Service, and recently served as an appointee on the U.S. Commission on Presidential Scholars. He is a graduate of Hood College (BA with Honors) and the University of Maryland School of Law.
Deputy Secretary of Agriculture, U.S. Department of Agriculture
Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden was appointed as the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Agriculture on July 7, 2025. Alongside Secretary Brooke L. Rollins, Deputy Secretary Vaden leads the Department’s operations and implements policies that support America’s food and farm systems. A native of Union City, Tennessee, Deputy Secretary Vaden brings expertise in agricultural policy, law, and rural development. Previously, he served as a judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade and as General Counsel of USDA. Throughout Deputy Secretary Vaden’s time as General Counsel, he led successful Supreme Court litigation, advanced regulatory reform, and supported the implementation of the 2018 Farm Bill. He is a graduate of Yale Law School and Vanderbilt University. A public servant with strong agricultural roots, Deputy Secretary Vaden is committed to revitalizing rural America and ensuring an abundant, affordable, and safe U.S. food supply.
Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute; Co-Director, Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State
Adam J. White is the Laurence H. Silberman Chair in Constitutional Governance and senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, where he focuses on the Supreme Court and the administrative state. Concurrently, he codirects the Antonin Scalia Law School’s C. Boyden Gray Center for the Study of the Administrative State.
Mr. White practiced constitutional and administrative law, particularly in the regulation of energy and financial markets. He started his legal career as a law clerk for Judge David B. Sentelle at the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit.
Mr. White has written for the Wall Street Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, National Affairs, Commentary, Harvard Journal of Law & Public Policy, and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. He is a regular contributor to the Yale Journal on Regulation’s Notice and Comment blog, and for many years, he was one of the Weekly Standard’s lead writers on constitutional law and the Supreme Court.
Mr. White has testified often before Congress, including before the Senate’s Committees on the Judiciary; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs and before the House’s Judiciary and Financial Services Committees. In 2018, the Senate Committee on the Judiciary called him to testify in Brett Kavanaugh’s Supreme Court confirmation hearings to advise senators on Kavanaugh’s approach to administrative law.
In 2021, he served on the Presidential Commission on the Supreme Court of the United States, where he criticized “Court packing” and other efforts to restructure the Supreme Court. In 2017, he was appointed to serve on the Administrative Conference of the United States. He also serves on the leadership council for the American Bar Association’s Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice Section, which he will chair in 2023–24. Before joining AEI, he was a research fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.
Mr. White has a JD from Harvard Law School and a bachelor of business administration from the College of Business at the University of Iowa.
Topics
Post-Decision Review: United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association
On June 15, 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture...
United States Forest Service v. Cowpasture River Preservation Association - Post-Decision SCOTUScast
Stephen Alexander Vaden, Paul D. Clement
On June 15, 2020, the Supreme Court released its decision in the case of United...
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New Jersey Lawyers Chapter - Online Event
Regulatory Reform Down on the Farm
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Adam White, Steven Gill Bradbury, George Fibbe, Stephen Alexander Vaden, Brent J. McIntosh, Matthew Z. Leopold, Dean Reuter
This episode brings you the audio from the opening panel of the Federalist Society's 7th...
Plenary Roundtable: Regulatory Reform Report Card: Agency General Counsel Perspective
Steven Gill Bradbury, George Fibbe, Matthew Z. Leopold, Brent J. McIntosh, Stephen Alexander Vaden, Adam White, Dean Reuter
The seventh annual Executive Branch Review Conference took place on May 8, 2019, at the...
Plenary Roundtable: Regulatory Reform Report Card: Agency General Counsel Perspective
Steven Gill Bradbury, George Fibbe, Matthew Z. Leopold, Brent J. McIntosh, Dean Reuter, Stephen Alexander Vaden, Adam White
The seventh annual Executive Branch Review Conference took place on May 8, 2019, at the...
Plenary Roundtable: Regulatory Reform Report Card: Agency General Counsel Perspective
Seventh Annual Executive Branch Review Conference
Washington, DCDeep Dive Episode 40 – Kisor v. Wilkie
Karen Harned, Stephen Alexander Vaden, Andrew R. Varcoe
On Wednesday, March 27th, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Kisor v. Wilkie. The...
Courthouse Steps Oral Argument: Kisor v. Wilkie
Karen Harned, Stephen Alexander Vaden, Andrew R. Varcoe
On the morning of March 27, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument in Kisor...