 Following the election of President Barack Obama, in 2009, Varney served as personnel counsel on the Obama-Biden Transition Project.Varney was nominated for the position of Assistant Attorney General for the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice in February 2009,
and confirmed by the Senate on April 20, 2009.On August 4, 2011, Varney resigned her position at the Justice Department; Evan Chesler, the presiding partner at Cravath, then recruited Varney to join the firm, which she did, in September 2011, when average partner pay at the firm was 3.1 million.