Neomi Rao testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/NLJ

Neomi Rao, the Trump administration's former top regulatory official whose confirmation came under fire over her college writings, will make her debut on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Friday.

Rao, who was nominated by President Donald Trump in November and confirmed in March, will take the bench alongside Judges David Tatel and Sri Srinivasan. The panel will hear oral arguments Friday morning in a criminal sentencing matter and another case that confronts the Trump administration's efforts to roll back Obama-era environmental regulations.

That later case, Natural Resources Defense Council v. Wheeler, will fall squarely within Rao's wheelhouse. Before joining the court, Rao served as head of the White House's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, where she largely spearheaded the Trump administration's deregulatory agenda. Rao, a former Justice Clarence Thomas clerk and administrative law expert, was previously a law professor at George Mason University Antonin Scalia Law School, where she also founded the school's Center for the Study of the Administrative State.

Friday's case centers on an environmental group's challenge to the Environmental Protection Agency's April 2018 decision to no longer enforce part of an Obama-era rule that regulated the use of hydrofluorocarbons, a greenhouse gas. The Natural Resources Defense Council, which sued the EPA, contends the agency unlawfully suspended the rule without providing sufficient explanation, or providing notice or opportunity to comment.

Peter DeMarco, a lawyer for the Natural Resources Defense Council, will argue before the panel. Benjamin Carlisle, a trial lawyer from the Justice Department's environmental and natural resources division, will represent the EPA and its administrator, Andrew Wheeler.

The first case arises out of an appeal of a man's denied bid to have his sentence retroactively reduced. Mark Smith, who pleaded guilty to drug distribution charges, is represented by the federal public defender's office in Washington, who argues Smith's sentence was based on a guideline range that the sentencing commission later reduced.

Rao, who filled the vacancy that was left after Brett Kavanaugh's elevation to the U.S. Supreme Court, is the Trump administration's second appointee to the D.C. Circuit. Trump previously named Gregory Katsas, a former deputy White House counsel and Jones Day partner, to the court in 2017.

Rao endured a blitz of attention during her confirmation over her writings at Yale University in the 1990s about sexual assault and campus multiculturalism. She told senators that looking back, some of her writings made her “cringe.”

Rao's nomination also faced questions from Senate Republicans about her stance on abortion. Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri, and a former clerk to Chief Justice John Roberts Jr., suggested Rao was pro-choice and that she would agree with more liberal judges to expand certain rights. Hawley's commentary drew ire from some conservatives, and he ended up voting in favor of Rao's nomination.

Read more:

Senator Claims Trump's Judicial Picks 'Instructed' to Evade Questions

Neomi Rao, Overcoming Character Questions, Is Confirmed to DC Circuit

Neomi Rao, Up for DC Circuit, Admits Some Writings Made Her 'Cringe'