Ahead of his inauguration on 20th of January 2021, United States President-Elect, Joe Biden, has appointed another Nigerian-American, Funmi Olorunnipa Badejo into his cabinet.
She’s one of over 20 lawyers appointed by Biden to his White House counsel’s office, where they will help the new president revise ethics standards and put his imprint on the federal bench.
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Funmi will be the third Nigerian to be appointed by Biden after the appointments of Wale Adeyemo as Deputy Treasury Secretary and Osaremen Okolo, a 26 Nigerian-American appointed to serve as COVID Policy Adviser and member of COVID-19 Response Team.
Here are the things to know about Funmi Olorunnipa:
• Report has it that Funmi is a daughter of Prof. Zachaeus Olorunnipa from Igbo-Bunu, Kabba-Buni LGA, Kogi State and her elder brother, Tolu, is currently the White House Correspondent for Washington Post.
• She got married in June 2019 to Tunde Badejo.
• She is a graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government, and the University of Florida.
• She began her legal career as an associate with the law firm of Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP and was Legal Counsel at Palantir Technologies Inc.
• She served as a General Counsel of the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Crisis, chaired by House Majority Whip, James E. Clyburn.
• She had also served as Counsel for Policy to the Assistant Attorney General in the Civil Division of the U.S Department of Justice, Ethics Counsel at the White House Counsel’s Office and Attorney Advisor at the Administrative Conference of the United States during the Obama-Biden administration.
