Todd Kim

Todd Sunhwae Kim is an American attorney serving as the United States Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division. He earlier served as the first solicitor general of the District of Columbia for nearly 12 years. He was twice nominated by President Barack Obama for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, but the Senate held no hearings on his nominations, which expired without action.[3]

Todd Kim
United States Assistant Attorney General for the Environment and Natural Resources Division
Assumed office
July 28, 2021
PresidentJoe Biden
Preceded byJeffrey Clark
1st Solicitor General of the District of Columbia
In office
March 22, 2006 – November 22, 2017
Attorney GeneralRobert Spagnoletti
Linda Singer
Peter Nickles
Irvin B. Nathan
Karl Racine
Preceded byposition established
Succeeded byLoren AliKhan[1]
Personal details
Born
Todd Sunhwae Kim

New Jersey[2]
Alma materHarvard University (BA, JD)

Early life and education

Kim was born and raised in New Jersey. He graduated magna cum laude from Harvard Law School in 1997, where he was an executive editor of the Harvard Law Review, and received his undergraduate degree, magna cum laude, in biology from Harvard College in 1994. After law school, he served as a law clerk to Judith W. Rogers on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.[2]

Professional career

Kim served for seven years as an appellate attorney for the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division.[4]

Solicitor general for the District of Columbia

Kim was the first solicitor general of the District of Columbia, serving from 2006 to 2017.[5] He was appointed by Attorney General Robert J. Spagnoletti to be responsible for all of the District's appellate litigation before the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.[6] In 2017, his final year as solicitor general, Kim argued on behalf of the District in the Supreme Court in District of Columbia v. Wesby.[7]

DC Court of Appeals nomination

In February 2014, President Barack Obama nominated Kim to a seat on the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, but his nomination was not acted upon.[8] On April 30, 2015, President Obama re-nominated Kim to the position,[9] but the Senate did not take action on that nomination either.[10]

Private practice

In January 2018, he became a partner in Reed Smith's appellate practice.[11] He left the firm in January 2021, joining the Biden administration as a deputy general counsel at the U.S. Department of Energy.[12]

Biden administration

On March 15, 2021, it was announced that President Joe Biden would nominate Kim to serve as Assistant Attorney General for the United States Department of Justice Environment and Natural Resources Division.[13][14] On April 14, 2021, a hearing on his nomination was held before the Senate Judiciary Committee.[15] On May 13, 2021, his nomination was reported out of committee by a 15–7 vote.[16] The Senate confirmed Kim in a 58–41 vote.[17][18]

Kim was sworn in on July 28.[19]

Personal life

On February 22, 2004, Kim appeared as the first contestant on a short-run Who Wants to Be a Millionaire spin-off game show called Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire, where he won $500,000. Kim decided to walk away from his $1,000,000 question.[20]

Kim is married to Carolyn Kim; they have two sons.[21]

References
  1. "Attorney General Racine Appoints Loren AliKhan as the District's Second Solicitor General". March 1, 2018. Retrieved August 2, 2021.
  2. "Assistant Attorney General (ENRD)". Department of Justice. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  3. "Todd Sunhwae Kim". Ballotpedia. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  4. Lynch, Sarah N. (March 15, 2021). "Biden to nominate former D.C. solicitor general to lead environmental division". Reuters. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  5. Scarcella, Mike (April 1, 2021). "Ex-Reed Smith Partner Todd Kim, Up for DOJ Post, Reveals Partner Pay, Client List". National Law Journal. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  6. "DC's Attorney General Names Todd Kim as the District's First Solicitor General – Releases – Office of the Attorney General".
  7. "Dist. of Columbia v. Wesby". Casetext. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  8. "PN1470 – Nomination of Todd Sunhwae Kim for The Judiciary, 113th Congress (2013–2014)". www.congress.gov. December 17, 2014.
  9. "Presidential Nominations Sent to the Senate". whitehouse.gov. April 30, 2015.
  10. "PN425 – Nomination of Todd Sunhwae Kim for The Judiciary, 114th Congress (2015–2016)". www.congress.gov. January 3, 2017.
  11. Todd Kim, Solicitor General of the District of Columbia, Joins Reed Smith’s National Appellate Practice, January 18, 2018
  12. "Reed Smith partner Todd Kim joins U.S. Department of Energy as Deputy General Counsel". Reed Smith (Press release). January 21, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  13. "President Biden Announces his Intent to Nominate Key Members of his Administration". White House. March 15, 2021.
  14. Lynch, Sarah N. (2021-03-15). "Biden to nominate former D.C. solicitor general to lead environmental division". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  15. "Nominations | United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary". www.judiciary.senate.gov.
  16. "Results of Executive Business Meeting – May 13, 2021" (PDF). United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  17. "On the Nomination (Confirmation: Todd Sunhwae Kim, of the District of Columbia, to be an Assistant Attorney General)". US Senate. Retrieved 2 April 2022.
  18. "Senate confirms Todd Kim as assistant AG for environmental division". Axios. July 27, 2021. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  19. @DOJEnvironment (July 28, 2021). "The new Assistant Attorney General for ENRD Todd Kim was sworn in today by Attorney General Garland" (Tweet). Retrieved 2021-09-30 – via Twitter.
  20. "Who Wants To Be a Super Millionaire, Episode #1.1". IMDB. Retrieved August 14, 2021.
  21. Todd Kim Opening Statement. Confirmation Hearing. Senate Judiciary Committee. April 14, 2021.
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