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T. Elliot Gaiser

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T. Elliot Gaiser
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel
Presumptive nominee
Assuming office
PresidentDonald Trump
SucceedingChristopher Fonzone
Solicitor General of Ohio
Incumbent
Assumed office
November 20, 2023
Preceded byBenjamin M. Flowers
Personal details
Born
Thomas Elliot Gaiser

(1989-09-06) September 6, 1989 (age 35)
Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Education

Thomas Elliot Gaiser (born September 6, 1989) is an American attorney who has served as the solicitor general of Ohio since 2023.

Gaiser studied political economy and speech studies at Hillsdale College, where he was a conservative blogger and podcaster. He later attended the University of Chicago Law School and clerked for several judges, including Edith H. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and Neomi Rao of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Gaiser clerked for Supreme Court associate justice Samuel Alito in the 2021–2022 term. He was involved in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. In October 2023, Dave Yost, the Attorney General of Ohio, named Gaiser as the state's solicitor general.

In April 2025, The New York Times reported that Gaiser was set to be named by president Donald Trump as his nominee for United States assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel.

Early life and education (1989–2016)

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A glass building overlooking a manmade body of water
The University of Chicago Law School, where Gaiser studied (pictured in 2008)

Thomas Elliot Gaiser was born on September 6, 1989,[1] in Cleveland, Ohio.[2] In high school, he participated in speech and debate.[2] Gaiser graduated from Hillsdale College in 2012 with a degree in political economy and speech studies.[3] At Hillsdale, he was a conservative podcaster[4] and was involved in the students' union. Gaiser was a four-time finalist of the Edward Everett Oratory Contest.[5] He interned for The Heritage Foundation[3] and Liberty Central, a political advocacy group founded by Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court associate justice Clarence Thomas, and wrote for The Daily Caller, RealClearPolicy, The Orange County Register, The Daily Signal, The American Spectator, PJ Media, and The Federalist.[6] He was in Hillsdale's journalism program[5] and served as the opinions editor of The Collegian his senior year.[2] In addition, Gaiser was the president of Hillsdale's chapter of Students for Free Enterprise.[7]

After graduating from Hillsdale College, Gaiser worked for Altus Technologies Corporation for five months.[6] He later attended the Ohio State University Moritz College of Law, transferring into the University of Chicago Law School after a year.[3] In law school, he worked for Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, later working appellate cases for the office of the Ohio solicitor general, including Ohio Supreme Court cases. Before graduating, Gaiser externed for judge Alice M. Batchelder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.[6] He graduated from the University of Chicago in 2016.[8]

Career

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After graduating from the University of Chicago, Gaiser clerked for judge Edith H. Jones of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for the 2016–2017 term. By November 2017, he had begun working at Gibson Dunn.[6] Gaiser was later a clerk for judge Neomi Rao of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[9] By December 2020, he had worked at Boyden Gray & Associates.[10] In July 2021, Gaiser began serving as a clerk to Supreme Court associate justice Samuel Alito for the 2021–2022 term.[11] In September 2022, Gaiser returned to Hillsdale College to co-teach a one week, one-credit course on constitutional interpretation.[12] Jones Day named Gaiser as an associate in December.[13]

Efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election (2020–2021)

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Main article: Efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election

In 2020, Gaiser worked as legal counsel for Donald Trump's 2020 presidential campaign.[14] In her deposition before the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany testified that she considered him an expert on constitutional law. Gaiser worked on election litigation after the 2020 presidential election and produced a document that alleged fraud by multiple state officials, including Kathryn Boockvar, the secretary of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. He presented the document to Trump as material for his campaign speeches and consulted McEnany on messaging. According to McEnany, Gaiser "mentioned in passing" the theory that vice president Mike Pence could refuse to recognize electors from certain states.[9]

Solicitor general of Ohio (2023–present)

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On October 18, 2023, Dave Yost, the attorney general of Ohio, named Gaiser as the state's solicitor general.[15] He was sworn into office in November.[10] In February 2025, Gaiser argued before the Supreme Court in Ames v. Ohio Department of Youth Services.[16]

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On April 1, 2025, The New York Times reported that Trump intended to nominate Gaiser as the United States assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel.[3]

References

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  1. ^ Thomas Elliott Gaiser in the Ohio, U.S., Birth Index, 1908-2003.
  2. ^ a b c Schutte 2023.
  3. ^ a b c d Savage 2025.
  4. ^ Pelzer 2023.
  5. ^ a b Pero 2025.
  6. ^ a b c d McClallen 2017.
  7. ^ "Santorum to speak at Hillsdale Monday evening". Washington Examiner.
  8. ^ Pero 2022.
  9. ^ a b Heisig 2023.
  10. ^ a b Balmert 2023.
  11. ^ Troutman 2021.
  12. ^ McKenna 2022.
  13. ^ Tincher-Numbers 2022.
  14. ^ Wolff 2021, p. 126.
  15. ^ Thomas 2023.
  16. ^ Bravin & Mulvaney 2025.

Works cited

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Books

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  • Wolff, Michael (2021). Landslide: The Final Days of the Trump Presidency. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781408714645.

Articles

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Documents

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  • "Thomas Elliott Gaiser in the Ohio, U.S., Birth Index, 1908-2003" (Document). Birth Index.
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