TRUMP INTERVIEWS INDIAN FOR SC JOB AMUL THAPAR AMONG 25 SHORTLISTED JUDGES WHO COULD BE NOMINATED
President Donald Trump has interviewed four judges and a senator for a vacancy in the US Supreme Court, including Indian-origin judge Amul Thapar.
Trump told reporters he had interviewed four candidates. “They are outstanding people, they are really incredible people in so many different ways, academically and every other way and I had a very, very interesting morning,” he said, without naming them.
White House press secretary Sarah Sanders said each of the four spoke with Trump for about 45 minutes with Trump.
The Washington Post identified the four judges as Thapar, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Raymond Kethledge. Other reports identified the senator as Mike Lee, who confirmed the telephone interview.
Trump plans to announce his pick on July 9.
Thapar is not new to being interviewed by Trump - he went through the process in 2017, following which he was named to the sixth circuit courts of appeal, one rung below the apex court.
However, Trump’s final pick may have to go through a bruising confirmation process. Democrats fear the new judge may overturn the 1973 Roe v Wade ruling that legalised abortion in all 50 states. Pro-life groups have long agitated for it to be overturned and return to each state the right to decide if they should allow abortions.
Thapar’s supporters say this is a chance for Trump to make history. If confirmed, he will be the first Supreme Court judge of Asian origin.
Barrett is also emerging as a strong contender. Ramesh Ponnuru, an Indian American conservative writer, pitched for her in a recent column in Bloomberg, arguing: “She is a woman.” He said if the Roe v Wade ruling is overturned, “it would be better if it were not done by only male justices, with every female justice in dissent” — all three women in the Supreme Court support the ruling and will oppose any attempt to overturn it.