Richard Trent McCotter (born March 1987) is an American lawyer who has served as the acting United States deputy attorney general and as the principal associate deputy attorney general since 2026.
Early life and education (1987–2011) Richard Trent McCotter was born in March 1987. McCotter attended West Forsyth High School. He corrected Babe Ruth's 1926 run batted in average; by 2007, he had become a member of the Society for American Baseball Research's records committee. McCotter graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law. He clerked for judges Steven Menashi of the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and R. Lanier Anderson III of the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Career Early work (2012–2022) McCotter worked in Jenner & Block's Supreme Court and appellate practice group. In 2017, he became an assistant U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. McCotter was involved in the prosecution of Edward Snowden. In the final months of president Donald Trump's first term, he served as a deputy associate attorney general in the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division.
Boyden Gray (2021–2026) In 2021, McCotter joined the lawyer C. Boyden Gray's firm, Boyden Gray & Associates. In March 2022, he represented several federal employees who sued the Biden administration over its requirement for federal employees to be vaccinated against COVID-19. By May 2023, McCotter had become a partner at Boyden Gray. Prior to his death that month, Gray worked with McCotter to restructure the firm. McCotter argued before the Supreme Court in FCC v. Consumers' Research (2025), a case involving the constitutionality of the Universal Service Fund. He filed a petition on behalf of Ed Blum's companies seeking for the Securities and Exchange Commission to restrict proxy advisory firms from considering gender, race, or ethnicity in their guidance to investors.
Principal associate deputy attorney general (2026–present) On April 9, 2026, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche appointed McCotter as the principal associate deputy attorney general. According to The Wall Street Journal, Boris Epshteyn helped secure McCotter's position. According to The New York Times, McCotter was a key individual in negotiations in the attempted settlement of Trump v. Internal Revenue Service. McCotter urged the Department to establish the Anti-Weaponization Fund, a program to compensate victims of apparent prosecutorial overreach. He coordinated with Trump's personal lawyers and proposed setting the sum at billion, referencing the year that the Declaration of Independence was signed. In August, Judge Nicholas Garaufis dismissed the indictment against Gautam Adani. Garaufis criticized McCotter, who he believed attempted to dismiss the case, as having seemingly "eschewed the professional opinions of innumerable officials from various federal offices." He additionally noted that the lack of involvement from agents and attorneys involved with the case appeared to be "highly unusual".
References
External links Appearances at the U.S. Supreme Court from the Oyez Project