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Brian P. Morrissey Jr.

Official · Treasury

PPP
Type
Person
Role
Official · Treasury
Programs
PPP
Updated
  • Pandemic-program role: Treasury's #2 lawyer (Principal Deputy General Counsel until April 2021), who, in Sidley's announcement, "led multiple initiatives to implement the CARES Act and other COVID-19 relief measures, including the Paycheck Protection Program." His own testimony describes that work as implementing the pandemic laws "lawfully, swiftly, and effectively." 12
  • Institution · office: Treasury · Office of the General Counsel · Type: political · non-career SES
  • Tenure (relief-relevant): In post by 2020 (2020 Plum Book) – April 2021 (Deputy/Principal Deputy General Counsel; Sidley announced his return on April 19, 2021). 13

The job (role mechanics)

  • Level / appointment: Non-career SES. The 2020 GPO Plum Book lists "Brian Paul Morrissey Jr." in Treasury's Office of the General Counsel under the heading GENERAL COUNSEL, title "Deputy General Counsel," with Type of Appointment = NA (noncareer SES) and Pay Plan = ES (Senior Executive Service); no Executive-Schedule level and no fixed term are listed. 3 (Sidley and Treasury describe his title as Principal Deputy General Counsel, "the second-highest ranking attorney in the Department"; the Plum Book's structured table lists two "Deputy General Counsel" rows (Morrissey and James Yarbrough Stern) rather than a separately coded "Principal Deputy" line.) 13 This was not a Senate-confirmed position in 2019–2021; he was Senate-confirmed only later, for the General Counsel role, in October 2025 (see "Career after"). 45
  • Reports to: General Counsel Brian Callanan, listed in the same 2020 Plum Book OGC block as General Counsel, Type PAS (Presidential appointment with Senate confirmation), Pay Plan EX, Level IV. 3
  • Core responsibility: Second-highest-ranking attorney in the Department; advised the Treasury Secretary and senior officials, managed significant litigation and congressional-oversight matters, and supervised teams of attorneys across financial regulation, tax, international trade, economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, and cybersecurity. 1
  • Pay: Non-career SES (Pay Plan ES). 3 The 2021 SES basic-pay range was $132,552–$199,300 (Salary Table 2021-ES). 6
  • Expectations / mandate: As described by Morrissey himself, the Legal Division's role is to ensure Treasury's actions are "lawful, durable, and clear" and "faithful to the laws Congress has entrusted the Department to administer." During the pandemic, he said, "much of our work focused on implementing the important legislation Congress enacted to see the country through that storm … there was no time to waste in ensuring that the Department implemented the laws Congress passed to combat that threat lawfully, swiftly, and effectively." 2
  • Tenure norm: Serves at the pleasure of the President (non-career SES).

Who they are

Brian Paul Morrissey Jr. is a Washington, D.C. white-collar / government-litigation lawyer and a repeat senior Treasury and DOJ political appointee across both Trump administrations. He is a former law clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and to Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 178

Education

  • B.A., College of the Holy Cross. 7
  • J.D., University of Notre Dame Law School, 2007 ("'07 J.D."). 87

Career before

  • Law clerk, Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. 78
  • Law clerk, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. 1782
  • Sidley Austin LLP, partner, White Collar: Government Litigation and Investigations practice, Washington, D.C. (before, between, and after his government service). 1
  • U.S. Department of Justice: leadership roles as Counselor to the Attorney General and Deputy Associate Attorney General, providing strategic oversight on high-profile civil, antitrust, environmental, and tax matters. 1
  • U.S. Department of the Treasury: Deputy / Principal Deputy General Counsel during the first Trump term (see pandemic section). 132

Role in the pandemic relief programs

  • Per Sidley's own first-party press release: "As Treasury's Principal Deputy General Counsel — the second-highest ranking attorney in the Department — Mr. Morrissey led multiple initiatives to implement the CARES Act and other COVID-19 relief measures, including the Paycheck Protection Program." 1
  • He "advised the Treasury Secretary and senior officials on a wide range of legal issues, managed significant litigation and congressional oversight matters, and supervised teams of attorneys in areas including financial regulation, tax, international trade, economic sanctions, anti-money laundering, and cybersecurity." 1 (The Treasury Secretary during his pandemic tenure was Steven T. Mnuchin; the General Counsel he reported to was Brian Callanan. 3)
  • In his own sworn nomination testimony (June 3, 2025) he confirmed: "I had the privilege to serve at Treasury as Deputy General Counsel in the President's first term, including during the Covid-19 pandemic, when much of our work focused on implementing the important legislation Congress enacted to see the country through that storm." He described the period as one in which "there was no time to waste in ensuring that the Department implemented the laws Congress passed to combat that threat lawfully, swiftly, and effectively." 2

Documents written or signed

  • No Federal Register PPP interim final rule, Congressional Oversight Commission letter or other instrument bearing Morrissey's individual signature has been located; PPP interim final rules were issued by the Small Business Administration.
  • First-party documents that do bear his name:
    • Opening Statement of Brian P. Morrissey, Jr., Nominee to Serve as General Counsel, U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, June 3, 2025 (his own signed/delivered testimony, quoted above). 2
    • Responses to Questions for the Record to Brian Morrissey, Jr., Senate Finance Committee, June 3, 2025 nominations hearing. 9
    • Resignation letter (May 2026), described in press reports. 10

Career after / where they are now

  • April 2021: Rejoined Sidley Austin LLP as a partner in the White Collar: Government Litigation and Investigations practice in Washington, D.C., advising clients on government enforcement and COVID-19 regulatory impact. (Announced via Sidley/BusinessWire press release, 2021-04-19.) 1
  • Feb. 25, 2025: Announced by Treasury (Secretary Scott Bessent) as President Trump's nominee to be General Counsel of the Department of the Treasury. 7 (Notre Dame Law publicized the nomination March 27, 2025. 8)
  • Nomination PN25-34, 119th Congress: referred to the Senate Finance Committee; nomination hearing June 3, 2025. 52
  • Confirmed by the U.S. Senate in October 2025 on a party-line vote (American Banker, the Senate roll-call page, Vote No. 547). He served as Treasury General Counsel from October 2025. 11412
  • Resigned in May 2026 (reported May 19, 2026), after roughly eight months as General Counsel, the same day the Department of Justice announced a $1.8 billion "Anti-Weaponization Fund" as part of a settlement of Trump's lawsuit against the IRS. Treasury's statement: "As General Counsel, Brian Morrissey has served the United States Treasury with both honor and integrity. We wish him all the best in his next endeavors." The Hill reported that his resignation letter was first reported by The New York Times. 1011 LegiStorm records his Treasury GC tenure as Oct. 2025–May 2026. 12

Sources held in this archive

Original source documents and archived captures

Sources (first-party)

  1. Sidley Austin LLP / BusinessWire press release, "Brian Morrissey, Former Principal Deputy General Counsel for the U.S. Department of the Treasury, Rejoins Sidley in D.C." (April 19, 2021). <https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210419005707/en/Brian-Morrissey-Former-Principal-Deputy-General-Counsel-for-the-U.S.-Department-of-the-Treasury-Rejoins-Sidley-in-D.C.> ↩
  2. "Opening Statement of Brian P. Morrissey, Jr., Nominee to Serve as General Counsel of the U.S. Department of the Treasury," U.S. Senate Committee on Finance, June 3, 2025 (his own delivered testimony). 06032025 Morrissey Testimony Pdf 53c497d92dc0e89d (original: finance.senate.gov · stored capture) ↩
  3. U.S. Government Policy and Supporting Positions (the "Plum Book"), 2020 ed. (GPO), Department of the Treasury — Office of the General Counsel section: "Brian Paul Morrissey Jr.," Deputy General Counsel, Type of Appointment NA, Pay Plan ES; same block lists General Counsel Brian Callanan, Type PAS, Pay Plan EX, Level IV. United States Government Policy and Supporting Positions, 2020 — Committee on Oversight and Reform (original: govinfo.gov · stored capture) ↩
  4. U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote No. 547, 119th Congress, 1st Session, Oct. 7, 2025 — confirmation (en bloc under S. Res. 412) of a slate including "PN25-34 — Brian Morrissey, Jr., of Virginia, to be General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury"; result 51 Yeas, 47 Nays, 2 not voting. Vote 119 1 00547 Htm 177a15bdbaaac9e5 (original: senate.gov · stored capture) ↩
  5. Congress.gov, Nomination PN25-34, 119th Congress — Brian Morrissey, Jr., of Virginia, to be General Counsel for the Department of the Treasury. Congress.gov, Nomination PN25-34, 119th Congress — Brian Morrissey, Jr., of Virginia, to be General Counsel for the D... (original: congress.gov · stored capture) ↩
  6. U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Salary Table No. 2021-ES, "Rates of Basic Pay for Members of the Senior Executive Service (SES)," effective January 2021 — certified-system range $132,552–$199,300; notes Section 748 (Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021) pay freeze on certain senior political officials in EX positions through Jan. 1, 2022. Es Pdf A1085Ab1Baa90860 (original: opm.gov · stored capture) ↩
  7. U.S. Department of the Treasury press release, "Treasury Department Announces New Appointments" (Feb. 25, 2025) — names Morrissey as Trump's nominee for Treasury General Counsel; lists B.A. (College of the Holy Cross), J.D. (Notre Dame), clerkships for Justice Clarence Thomas and Judge Diarmuid O'Scannlain (9th Cir.). U.S. Department of the Treasury press release, "Treasury Department Announces New Appointments" Feb. 25, 2025 — names... (original: home.treasury.gov · stored capture) ↩
  8. Notre Dame Law School, "Brian P. Morrissey, '07 J.D." (alumni note, published March 27, 2025) — confirms J.D. '07 and the Treasury GC nomination, clerkships for Justice Thomas and Judge O'Scannlain. Notre Dame Law School, "Brian P. Morrissey, '07 J.D." alumni note, published March 27, 2025 — confirms J.D. '07 and t... (original: law.nd.edu · stored capture) ↩
  9. "Responses to Questions for the Record to Brian Morrissey, Jr.," U.S. Senate Committee on Finance (June 3, 2025 nominations hearing). Responses To Questions For The Record To Brian Morrissey Jr 61d838046af0e48a (original: finance.senate.gov · stored capture) ↩
  10. The Hill, Sarah Davis, "Top Treasury lawyer resigns as Trump, IRS settlement announced" (May 19, 2026) — reports Morrissey's resignation (served ~8 months as GC), the $1.8B "anti-weaponization fund," Treasury's statement, and that the resignation letter was reported by the NYT. The Hill, Sarah Davis, "Top Treasury lawyer resigns as Trump, IRS settlement announced" May 19, 2026 — reports Morris... (original: thehill.com) ↩
  11. American Banker, Ebrima Santos Sanneh, "Top Treasury lawyer resigns as $1.8B settlement fund unveiled" (May 19, 2026) — confirms party-line Senate confirmation, Feb. 2025 nomination, resignation same day as DOJ fund, and quotes his June 3, 2025 testimony. American Banker, Ebrima Santos Sanneh, "Top Treasury lawyer resigns as $1.8B settlement fund unveiled" May 19, 2026 —... (original: americanbanker.com · stored capture) ↩
  12. LegiStorm biographical record — lists Brian Morrissey, "U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of the General Counsel (Oct. 2025–May 2026), General Counsel" (tenure dates corroboration; most detail paywalled). LegiStorm biographical record — lists Brian Morrissey, "U.S. Department of the Treasury Office of the General Counsel... (original: legistorm.com · stored capture) ↩

Secondary press (clearly labeled):

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