Already well on his way to reshaping the federal judiciary, President Trump announced Friday the names of five more conservative judges that he will consider for the next Supreme Court vacancy.
Already well on his way to reshaping the federal judiciary, President Trump announced Friday the names of five more conservative jurists that he will consider for the next Supreme Court vacancy.
The new list of candidates for the high court includes Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a conservative stalwart on the high-profile U. S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Also named as potential Supreme Court picks are Judge Amy Barrett of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals; Judge Britt Grant of the Georgia Supreme Court; Judge Kevin Newsom of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Patrick Wyrick.
While there are no current vacancies on the Court, there has been persistent speculation about possible retirements, including liberal Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and swing-vote Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
The White House said the new candidates, who are added to the president’s original campaign list of 20 potential judicial nominees, are in the mold of Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
“President Trump will choose a nominee for a future Supreme Court vacancy, should one arise, from this updated list of 25 individuals,” the White House said. “The president remains deeply committed to identifying and selecting outstanding jurists in the mold of Justice Gorsuch. These additions, like those on the original list released more than a year ago, were selected with input from respected conservative leaders.”
Judicial Crisis Network chief counsel and policy director Carrie Severino called the new candidates “some of the best and brightest judges in the nation.”
“These men and women have spent years in the trenches of state and federal government fighting for the Constitution and the rule of law,” she said. “They represent a diverse range of backgrounds, including both state and federal judges, three who were former state solicitors general with first-hand experience protecting our constitutional balance of powers.”
In his first year in office, Mr. Trump has already appointed eight federal appeals court judges, the most at this point in a presidency since President Richard Nixon. The Senate is expected to confirm his ninth appellate judicial nominee — former Trump deputy White House counsel Gregory Katsas — within weeks.
