In a September 23, 2016, press release, Donald Trump released the names of ten more possible Supreme Court nominees. He released a list of 11 possible nominees in May 2016. According to Business Insider, Trump released the May list in an effort to resolve any conservatives worries that he may nominate a liberal.
The ten new potential nominees bring the total list that Trump is considering to 21. The new list includes:
- Keith Blackwell – Georgia Supreme Court justice
- Charles Canady – Florida Supreme Court justice
- Neil Gorsuch – 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals judge
- Mike Lee – Junior U.S. Senator, Utah
- Edward Mansfield – Iowa Supreme Court justice
- Federico Moreno – U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, judge
- Margaret A. Ryan – U.S. Court of Appeals, Armed Forces, judge
- Amul Thapar – U.S. District Court, Eastern District of Kentucky, judge
- Timothy Tymkovich – U.S. Court of Appeals, 10th Circuit, chief judge
- Robert Young – Michigan Supreme Court chief justice
Of those chosen, the Business Insider indicated in its article that Mike Lee is a tea party liberal and that he is currently campaigning to continue representing Utah as a senator. Politico published an article that indicated that Senator Lee would not accept a nomination if it were to be offered in the future. CBS News reported that Senator Lee refuses to endorse Trump for a variety of reasons. It remains to be seen if a nomination to an esteemed Supreme Court appointment, if Trump is elected, will be turned down. It would seem unlikely, regardless of his views of Trump.
If Trump is elected President of the United States, he would consider appointing one of the individuals from the list to the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy left when Justice Scalia passed away earlier this year. The 21 possible Supreme Court nominees, according to Trump’s press release, were chosen after talking with conservative leaders and were based on “constitutional principles”.
Trump’s website notes that Supreme Court justices will be appointed that will uphold the constitution and U.S. laws. He states that the justice will be a person that will “preserve the very core of our country and make it greater than ever before; uphold our freedoms, constitutional values and principles that our country was founded on; protect and defend freedom of religion, speech, press and right to bear arms”.
To date, there has not been much response from the possible nominees on what they think of being added to the list. Of course, it is possible that none of them would be nominated. The one that is nominated by the President will be sent a questionnaire that requires great detail about their lives; a hearing will be held before the Judiciary Committee; and following that, more written questions must be answered. Once that process is complete, the Committee votes on whether to give a favorable, unfavorable, or no recommendation at all to the full Senate. So, although the President must make a nomination, that does not mean that the nominee will make it through the process to actually be appointed.
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