Serena Hoy was the guiding legal voice behind some of the most controversial issues facing the Senate during the past year. As the chief counsel for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), the Yale Law School grad and former Rhodes scholar wrote a key legal analysis following President Obama’s recess appointments to consumer and labor boards in January. Many senators thought Obama had overreached his executive powers, as the Senate was still meeting every few days in pro forma sessions to avoid such appointments.
But Reid cited Hoy’s analysis in deciding not to oppose the recess appointments, agreeing with her conclusion that the pro forma tactic would make it harder for any president to make recess appointments and shift the balance of power to Congress. The New York Times mentioned her by name in a front-page article.
