Ellen L. Weintraub

Who is Ellen L. Weintraub?

Ellen L. Weintraub is a Commissioner on the United States Federal Election Commission.

She received a recess appointment to the Commission on December 6, 2002, and took office on December 9, 2002. She was renominated on January 9, 2003, and confirmed by unanimous consent of the United States Senate on March 18, 2003. Shortly after her arrival at the FEC, Weintraub was elected Chair of the Commission for 2003. She is the third woman to serve on the Commission. In June 2008, two more women, Cynthia L. Bauerly and Caroline C. Hunter, joined Weintraub on the Commission. Although Weintraub's term ended April 30, 2007, by statute she continues in office until her successor takes office.

Prior to her appointment, Weintraub was Of Counsel to Perkins Coie LLP and a member of its Political Law Group. There, she counseled clients on federal and state campaign finance laws, political ethics, nonprofit law, and lobbying regulation. During the election contest arising out of the 1996 election of Senator Mary Landrieu, Weintraub served on the legal team that advised the Senate Rules Committee. Her tenure with Perkins Coie represented Weintraub’s second stint in private practice, as she previously practiced as a litigator with the New York firm of Cahill Gordon & Reindel.