With the 116th Congress ticking down, the Trump Administration is running out of time to fill vacancies before the 2020 presidential election.  After previous nominee Thomas Marcelle was blocked for a New York vacancy, Trump has put forward Stephen McAllister, an Albany based attorney.

Background

43 year old Ryan Thomas McAllister got his Bachelor of Arts from the Catholic University of America in 1999 and went on to earn his J.D. from Harvard Law School in 2002.^[1]  After law school, McAllister clerked for Judge Richard Wesley on the New York Court of Appeals and then on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit after Wesley was confirmed to the federal bench.  McAllister then joined the Office of Gov. George Pataki as Assistant Counsel.^[2]

After Pataki left office in 2006, McAllister joined the Albany office of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP as an Associate.^[3]  In 2011, McAllister became Senior Counsel for the Senate majority of the New York State Senate while working as a solo practitioner in Albany.

In 2016, McAllister moved to Washington D.C. to work for U.S. Rep. John Faso.^[4]  After Faso lost re-election in 2018, McAllister returned to Albany to become a Partner at Boies Schiller Flexner LLP, where he currently works.

History of the Seat

McAllister has been nominated to a seat on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.  This seat opened on January 1, 2016, when Judge Gary Sharpe moved to senior status.  While the seat opened with a year left in the Obama Administration, the Administration never extended a nominee for the vacancy and it was carried over into the Trump Administration.

In October 2018, upon the recommendation of two Republican Congressmen in New York, Lee Zeldin and John Faso, the White House nominated New York Judge Thomas Marcelle for the vacancy.  Marcelle had also been nominated for a federal judgeship by President George W. Bush but was blocked by Senator Charles Schumer.^[5]  This time around, Marcelle was blocked by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand over his record on abortion, and Marcelle withdrew his nomination in August 2019.^[6]  On August 12, 2020, McAllister was nominated in a second attempt to fill this seat.

Legal Experience

McAllister’s legal career can be divided into his time in politics and his time in litigation.  In the former category, we can find McAllister’s role working for Gov. George Pataki, the New York State Senate, and Rep. John Faso.  In the latter, you have McAllister’s time at Boies Schiller and as a solo practitioner.  In these positions, McAllister largely focused on commercial litigation, as well as some criminal defense.

One of McAllister’s most notable cases was his role representing B.J.’s Wholesalers as a plaintiff in an action challenging anticompetitive activities conducted by industrial producers of chicken meat.^[7]  

Political Activity

McAllister, a Republican, has worked closely in politics for much of his career, including working for Gov. George Pataki and Rep. John Faso.  McAllister also worked as a staffer for the Republican majority in the New York State Senate between 2011 and 2016.  Furthermore, in 2016, McAllister considered running for Congress but instead chose to support Faso.^[8]

Additionally, McAllister has frequently donated to Republicans.^[9]  In addition to Faso, McAllister has supported the Presidential campaigns of NYC Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Sen. Marco Rubio.^[10] 

Overall Assessment

In theory, McAllister would not have been nominated to a district court seat without at least a preliminary sign-off from his home state senators.  That suggests at least some acquiescence by Senators Schumer and Gillibrand.  However, as the nomination of his predecessor showed, there’s many a slip between nomination and confirmation.  Given the close distance to the election, it is unlikely that New York’s senators will return blue slips on the nomination.  If they do, however, McAllister will likely be confirmed by the end of the year.

---