Ellen L. Weintraub

Ellen L. Weintraub
Federal Election Commission
Assumed office
December 2002
Personal details
Born New York City
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Bill Dauster (three children)
Alma mater Harvard Law School, Yale College
Profession Lawyer

Ellen L. Weintraub is a Commissioner on the United States Federal Election Commission.

She received a recess appointment to the Commission on December 6, 2002, and took office on December 9, 2002.[1] She was renominated on January 9, 2003, and confirmed by unanimous consent of the United States Senate on March 18, 2003. Shortly after her arrival at the FEC, Weintraub was elected Chair of the Commission for 2003. She is the third woman[2] to serve on the Commission, following Republicans Lee Ann Elliott and Joan Aikens. In June 2008, two more women, Democrat Cynthia L. Bauerly and Republican Caroline C. Hunter, joined Weintraub on the Commission.[3] Although Weintraub's term ended April 30, 2007 and she is not eligible for reappointment, by statute she continues in office until her successor takes office.[4]

Prior to her appointment, Weintraub was Of Counsel to Perkins Coie LLP and a member of its Political Law Group. There, she counseled clients on federal and state campaign finance laws, political ethics, nonprofit law, and lobbying regulation. During the election contest arising out of the 1996 election of Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), Weintraub served on the legal team that advised the Senate Rules Committee. Her tenure with Perkins Coie represented Weintraub’s second stint in private practice, as she previously practiced as a litigator with the New York firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel.

Before joining Perkins Coie, Weintraub was Counsel to the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for the U.S. House of Representatives (the House Ethics Committee). Like the Commission, the Committee on Standards is a bipartisan body, evenly divided between Democratic and Republican members. There, Weintraub focused on implementing the Ethics Reform Act of 1989 (Pub.L. 101–194) and subsequent changes to the House Code of Official Conduct. She also served as editor in chief of the House Ethics Manual and as a principal contributor to the Senate Ethics Manual. While at the Committee, Weintraub counseled Members on investigations and often had lead responsibility for the Committee’s public education and compliance initiatives.[5]

While Weintraub was FEC Chair in July 2013, the commission ruled that legally married same-sex couples must be treated the same as opposite-sex couples under election law.[6]

Weintraub has appeared on The Rachel Maddow Show, All In with Chris Hayes, Up with Steve Kornacki,[7] and Democracy Now!.[8]

Commissioner Weintraub is married to Bill Dauster, Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy for Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and formerly Legislative Director for Senator Russ Feingold.[9]

References

  1. ↑ President Bush Today Announced the Recess Appointment of One Individual to Serve as a Member of His Administration
  2. ↑ "Ellen L. Weintraub Official Biography". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  3. ↑ "Commissioners (showing the three women members)". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  4. ↑ 2 U.S.C. § 437c(a)(2)(B), and no successor has been nominated.
  5. ↑ "Ellen L. Weintraub Official Biography". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
  6. ↑ Matea Gold, “Same-Sex Spouses Have Same Rights as Straight Couples, FEC Rules,” The Washington Post (July 26, 2013): page A4.
  7. ↑ "Speeches, Statements, and Media Appearances". Federal Election Commission. Retrieved 2015-06-17.
  8. ↑ "Could Citizens United Help Foreign Billionaires Buy This Election? An FEC Commissioner Speaks Out." Democracy Now! April 5, 2016.
  9. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/dauster
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