It has now been reported that Claude Allen, deputy secretary of HHS, is the “as-yet unnamed” individual to be nominated to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit on Monday. Allen previously served as HHS secretary and deputy attorney general for the Commonwealth of Virginia and once worked for Senator Jesse Helms. Reports indicate Allen will be nominated along with former North Carolina appeals court judge Allyson Duncan. In addition to being the first black woman on the North Carolina Court of Appeals, Duncan also worked for Clarence Thomas at the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Of the two, expect Duncan to have an easier path to confirmation.