[3][4] Cooksey served as a law clerk for Judge Jerry Edwin Smith of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.

He then worked as a litigation associate at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher in Washington, D.C. where his practice focused on appeals and constitutional law.

[3] On October 28, 2020, President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Cooksey to serve as a Commissioner of the Federal Election Commission.

[12] He has also criticized the agency’s failure to comply with requests under the Freedom of Information Act,[13] leading to multiple court settlements.

[20] In testimony before the United States House Committee on House Administration, Cooksey defended the Commission’s agency structure from criticism that it causes deadlock or inefficiency, and he argued that the Commission reaches some kind of bipartisan agreement in 90 percent of enforcement matters.