President Barack Obama announced his intent, on July 9, to appoint law professor Mariano-Florentino Cuéllar to the Council of the Administrative Conference of the United States (ACUS), an independent agency of the United States government charged with improving the efficiency and fairness of federal agencies. Cuéllar, who is an expert on federal regulatory policy, public safety and international security, will join the ACUS Council to help in overseeing the agency’s work and setting its priorities.

“Given where the country is and the challenges it faces, it is especially important for federal agencies to deliver value, cut waste and safeguard the rights of the public,” Cuéllar said. “I am especially interested in working with my colleagues on the ACUS Council to increase transparency and accountability in federal agencies, improve adjudication and review agency procedures for protecting the public in emergencies.”

This appointment does not mark the first time that Cuéllar has served outside of the Stanford Law School (SLS) since he joined its faculty in 2001. He recently served as Special Assistant to the President for Justice and Regulatory Policy at the White House Domestic Policy Council, a position for which he took a leave of absence from SLS in 2009. In addition, Cuéllar co-chaired the Obama Transition’s Immigration Policy Committee and served as a Treasury official during the Clinton Administration.

Cuéllar said he will look to draw upon his experiences at SLS to help improve the ways federal agencies carry out regulatory programs.

“Teaching administrative law and other public law classes at Stanford, and working on Stanford’s law and public policy program is definitely part of what I will bring to this work, along with my participation in a variety of research projects and my experience in the federal government.”

— Kevin Zhang