Neomi Rao testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during her confirmation hearing to be a judge on the U.S. Court Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Feb. 5, 2019. (Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM)
Judge Neomi Rao was an engaged and active questioner on the bench Friday as she made her debut as a newly minted jurist on Washington’s federal appeals court.
The former Trump administration regulatory czar sat upright and occasionally leaned forward during her first sitting, appearing with a laptop and a binder of papers. Rao was appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit by President Donald Trump and confirmed in March, filling the vacancy left behind by Brett Kavanaugh’s elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court.
