Jennifer Lee Mascott

Jennifer Lee Mascott is an American jurist serving as a circuit judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Appointed by President Donald J. Trump and confirmed in October 2025, she brings experience from legislative staff work, federal clerkships, academic scholarship, and service in the Department of Justice and White House Counsel’s Office. Her scholarly focus has centered on separation‑of‑powers issues and the structure of litigation, and she has taught at several law schools before joining the federal bench.

Early life and legal career

Jennifer Lee Miller was born in 1976 in Westminster, Maryland. She pursued an undergraduate education at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree with honors in mathematics and government in 1997. Following graduation, Mascott entered the political arena, spending seven years on the staffs of various members of Congress. Her early federal experience included serving as a legislative assistant to Representative John Hostettler of Indiana from 1997 to 1999. She then moved to the Senate Republican Conference, where she held positions as deputy press secretary and later systems technology manager between 1999 and 2001. Subsequent roles placed her in the press offices of Representative Eric Cantor of Virginia (2001‑2002) and Representative Anne Northup of Kentucky (2002‑2003).

In 2003 Mascott enrolled at George Washington University Law School. While a student she contributed to the George Washington Law Review as senior projects editor, graduating summa cum laude with a Juris Doctor in 2006. Upon completion of her legal education, she secured prestigious clerkships that shaped her early judicial perspective. From 2006 to 2007 she clerked for Judge Brett Kavanaugh on the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She then served as a law clerk to Justice Clarence Thomas of the United States Supreme Court from 2008 through 2009.

After her clerkships, Mascott entered academia and legal practice. From 2011 to 2017 she held a lecturer position at George Washington University Law School, during which time she also completed an Olin/Searle Fellowship at Georgetown University Law Center (2015‑2017). Her scholarship during this period emphasized the constitutional allocation of governmental authority and procedural aspects of federal litigation. In 2017 she joined the faculty of the Antonin Scalia Law School at George Mason University as an assistant professor, a role she maintained until 2024. While on the George Mason faculty, Mascott was recognized with the Federalist Society’s Joseph Story Award in 2023 for her contributions to legal scholarship.

Parallel to her academic duties, Mascott practiced law as of counsel at Consovoy McCarthy Park PLLC in Arlington, Virginia from 2017 to 2019. Her public‑service career resumed during the Trump administration when she entered the Department of Justice. From 2019 to 2020 she served as deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel, providing legal advice on executive branch matters. She was subsequently appointed associate deputy attorney general, a position she held from November 2020 until January 2021.

Following her tenure at the Justice Department, Mascott returned briefly to academia before moving into the private sector. In 2024 she became managing trustee of Adfero, a public‑relations firm, and in early 2025 she joined the White House Counsel’s Office as senior advisor under President Trump. Concurrently, she accepted an associate professorship at the Columbus School of Law, Catholic University of America, where she remains on public‑service leave.

Federal appellate service

President Donald J. Trump announced his intent to nominate Mascott to the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit on July 16, 2025, designating her to fill the vacancy created by Judge Kent A. Jordan’s departure. The nomination proceeded to the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Mascott testified on September 3, 2025. The committee reported her nomination favorably on October 1, 2025 by a party‑line vote of twelve to ten.

The full Senate considered the nomination in early October. Cloture was invoked on October 8, 2025 with a vote of fifty to forty‑seven, allowing the confirmation vote to proceed. On October 9, 2025 the Senate confirmed Mascott by the same margin of fifty to forty‑seven. She received her judicial commission the following day, October 10, 2025, and assumed active service on the Third Circuit, occupying seat CA30605.

Jurisprudence and legacy

Judge Mascott’s pre‑bench scholarship has concentrated on the constitutional doctrine of separation of powers and the procedural mechanisms governing federal courts. Her 2018 article “Who Are ‘Officers of the United States’?” published in the Stanford Law Review examined the statutory and constitutional criteria for designating federal officers, contributing to ongoing academic debate about executive authority. In the same year she authored a reflective piece on *Gundy v. United States* for the George Mason Law Review, analyzing the state of the non‑delegation doctrine after the Supreme Court’s decision. A 2019 article in the George Washington Law Review explored early customs statutes and their delegations, further demonstrating her interest in historical foundations of administrative law.

These works have been cited by scholars examining executive power, statutory interpretation, and the limits of congressional delegation. Her receipt of the Federalist Society’s Joseph Story Award underscores recognition from a prominent legal organization for her contributions to constitutional scholarship.

Since joining the Third Circuit, Judge Mascott has participated in panels addressing a range of federal appellate issues, though specific opinions have not yet been highlighted in publicly available sources. Observers note that her background—spanning legislative staff work, high‑level executive branch service, and academic research on governmental structure—provides a multifaceted perspective on cases involving administrative law, separation of powers, and procedural matters.

Beyond her professional achievements, Mascott’s personal life includes marriage to Jeff Mascott, with whom she raised four children. Her husband passed away from pancreatic cancer in 2023 at the age of forty‑eight.

Judge Jennifer Lee Mascott’s career reflects a blend of legislative experience, judicial clerkship, academic inquiry, and executive branch service, culminating in her appointment to one of the nation’s federal appellate courts. Her scholarly focus on constitutional allocation of authority and litigation processes positions her as a jurist with deep familiarity with the legal frameworks that shape United States governance.