DC is rife with rumors that Justice Anthony Kennedy is going to retire at the end of this year’s Supreme Court term in June. According to CNN:
The question appears not to be whether Kennedy will retire soon, but when -- at the end of this June, or next?
President Trump will be ready if that happens and will pick from his list of potential Supreme Court nominees he announced last year.
President Trump will stick with the same list of potential nominees for the next Supreme Court vacancy, he told The Washington Times in an exclusive interview in which he also waved aside the lack of a honeymoon from Capitol Hill, saying Republicans are “going to get there” and Democrats are still smarting over losing an election they thought they couldn’t lose. . . .
Mr. Trump shook the election campaign last year when he announced a list of 21 potential Supreme Court nominees, selected with the help of the Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation. The list was an instant hit with conservatives and helped cement the candidate’s support among the Republican base.
“It’s a great list. From the moment I put that list out, it solved that problem. And I was proud to say it was my idea,” he said. . . .
Mr. Trump said conservative voters should be assured that his next choice will be “really talented and of our views.” Asked specifically whether he would pick from the list of candidates he put forward in the campaign, Mr. Trump was unequivocal: “Yes,” he said, adding, “That list was a big thing.”
As the Weekly Standard points out, this is politically brilliant, and puts the pressure on the Senate to confirm a nominee off the list:
The field is not open to negotiation. He was elected to put these specific people on the Court. They have been vetted, in a sense, by the American people.
RNLA will have a panel on this topic at our National Policy Conferencethis Friday.