Washington will soon be gripped by the drama of a Supreme Court nomination. The crazies will be out in force. Who will the nominee be? President Trump says he will stick to the list of 25 prospective nominees that he drew up before nominating Neil Gorsuch:
President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he would move quickly to nominate a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced that he will retire on July 31.
Trump told reporters the process would “begin immediately .”
The president said he would review an existing list of 25 candidates for the opening. The list was put together to fill the seat now held by Justice Neil Gorsuch. It was developed in consultation with conservative legal scholars.
“It will be somebody from that list,” Trump said.
Here, per USA Today, is the list:
1. Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
2. Keith Blackwell of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia
3. Charles Canady of Florida, Supreme Court of Florida
4. Steven Colloton of Iowa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
5. Allison Eid of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
6. Britt Grant of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia
7. Raymond Gruender of Missouri, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
8. Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
9. Brett Kavanaugh of Maryland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
10. Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
11. Joan Larsen of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
12. Mike Lee of Utah, U.S. senator
13. Thomas Lee of Utah, Supreme Court of Utah
14. Edward Mansfield of Iowa, Supreme Court of Iowa
15. Federico Moreno of Florida, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
16. Kevin Newsom of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
17. William Pryor of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
18. Margaret Ryan of Virginia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
19. David Stras of Minnesota, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
20. Diane Sykes of Wisconsin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
21. Amul Thapar of Kentucky, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
22. Timothy Tymkovich of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
23. Robert Young of Michigan, Supreme Court of Michigan (Ret.)
24. Don Willett of Texas, Supreme Court of Texas
25. Patrick Wyrick of Oklahoma, Supreme Court of Oklahoma
I don’t know anything about some of those judges, but based on the ones I am familiar with, it is a great list. At the margin, I personally would like to see a woman get the nomination. A relatively young, deeply conservative woman.
I don’t think all of those on the list are serious contenders. Retired Michigan Supreme Court Justice Robert Young, for example, is 67. There is no way Trump will nominate someone that old. Somewhat perversely, one might think, relative youth is a prized quality in a Supreme Court nominee.
Finally, it isn’t a major point, but this is typical of how facts are often casually misrepresented in “mainstream” news sources:
Republicans have a 51-seat majority now, giving them the ability to withstand Democratic opposition. The traditional 60-vote threshold for high court nominees was abolished last April when Democrats threatened to block Gorsuch’s confirmation, prompting Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell to push through a rules change allowing justices to be confirmed with simple majority votes.
A 60-vote threshold is hardly “traditional.” Justice Clarence Thomas was confirmed 52-48, and that was in the bygone era of 1991.
UPDATE: On that last point, Guy Benson lays out the history. Guy supplies chapter and verse, but briefly:
Democrats single-handedly and unilaterally introduced the concept of judicial filibusters against majority-supported nominees, then proceeded to unilaterally end it, all over the course of about a decade. They started the practice when they were in the minority, then blew it up when they were in the majority.
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