SG Resigns

Solicitor General Ted Olson has resigned:

Olson said he informed Attorney General John Ashcroft and Vice President Dick Cheney of his plans on Wednesday and told members of his staff on Thursday morning.

"It seemed like the right time to do it," Olson, 63, told Legal Times Thursday. "I love the job. I love the people. I love the Court. It's good to go when you're happy."

I found this passage particularly interesting:

Before the Court, Olson argued numerous important cases -- 41 in all during his private and public career -- and on Thursday he singled out Zelman v. Simmons-Harris, the 2002 school voucher case, and McConnell v. FEC, the 2003 campaign finance reform case, as his biggest successes as solicitor general.

"Some people thought we wouldn't have our heart in defending the [campaign finance] law, but it was an act of Congress we were proud to defend," Olson said.

That is what a good lawyer should do for his client, but it is still interesting to hear him single out that case.

Olson also implies that Deputy Solicitor General Paul Clement might be a good candidate to replace him. I think that is somewhat unlikely. As this article suggests, Clement has been the point man in defending the administration's tactics in the war on terror. And during oral argument, he specifically denied that our government uses even mild forms of torture.

Not the sort of thing I think the administration wants to have discussed in the next SG confirmation hearing, though they have thumbed their noses (and shouted expletives) at the Senate Democrats plenty of times before.