WASHINGTON — A senior Justice Department lawyer who defended same-sex marriage, President Obama’s health care law and the government’s right to collect bulk phone records has been promoted to the department’s No. 3 position, officials said Friday.
Earlier this week, Mr. Delery argued before a federal appeals court in New York that the National Security Agency had the authority to seize and store the phone records of millions of Americans without any suspicion of wrongdoing.
He also is now the highest-ranking openly gay official to ever serve in the Justice Department.
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