Sarah Harris, a Williams & Connolly partner who clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, will soon take charge of the U.S. Solicitor General's Office pending the expected confirmation of incoming President Donald Trump's nominee for the position, John Sauer, multiple sources have told the National Law Journal.

As the Trump administration's choice for principal deputy solicitor general, Harris will serve as acting solicitor general from day one of Trump's second term until Sauer's expected Senate confirmation. In that role, she will temporarily be in charge of shaping the Trump administration's legal positions at the Supreme Court, and will likely play a key role in some of the early legal battles over Trump's controversial policy agenda, including perhaps the president-elect's plans for mass deportations and immigration crackdowns.