Don Willett of Texas is considered a possible pick,
Preparing to make his second pick to the U.S. Supreme Court, President Donald Trump indicated Wednesday that he will choose from previously disclosed candidates — a list that includes Don Willett of Texas.
Willett is a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals — which handles federal appeals from Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi — after he was nominated by Trump and confirmed by the U.S. Senate last year.
Willett previously served on the Texas Supreme Court, where he established a reputation as one of the court’s most conservative justices, and is probably best known for a Twitter account that was quite active, often funny and followed by more than 100,000 Twitter users. He hasn’t tweeted, however, since Jan. 1, one day before he took the oath of office for a lifetime appointment to the appeals court.
Shortly after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced that he will retire effective July 31, Trump told reporters that he will choose from a list of two dozen potential court candidates that he revealed in 2016, when he was seeking a high court nominee after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death.
That search ended with Neil Gorsuch being nominated and confirmed by the Senate.
“Hopefully we will pick someone who is just as outstanding,” Trump said.
Willett was among the first 11 potential Supreme Court nominees announced by the White House in May 2016, and his inclusion caught him by surprise, leaving Willett uncharacteristically flustered when he was suddenly surrounded by reporters at a previously scheduled event in downtown Austin.
Additional names have been added since, but Willett remains the only Texan on Trump’s short list.