Trump interviews Sen. Mike Lee for Supreme Court vacancy
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has interviewed Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, seen as a long-shot contender to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, for the Supreme Court vacancy, a spokesman for the senator confirmed Tuesday.
The interview was conducted over the phone on Monday, said the spokesman, Conn Carroll.
“It was in a nominee capacity,” Carroll said of the president’s interview with Lee, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will vet Trump’s nominee. Lee’s interview with Trump was first reported by The Deseret News.
White House spokesman Raj Shah later also confirmed the conversation.
Trump and White House aides are racing toward a July 9 date to announce his pick to replace Kennedy, a nomination likely to lead to a monumental confirmation battle in an already heated election year. The White House and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., have said they want to confirm Kennedy’s successor by the time the Supreme Court convenes for its fall term in October.
Also on Monday, Trump conducted interviews with four federal appeals court judges seen as top contenders to replace Kennedy: Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Amul Thapar and Raymond Kethledge. Another judge considered to be on the shortlist is Judge Thomas Hardiman, who was a finalist last year when Trump ultimately nominated now-Justice Neil Gorsuch.
All those candidates are on the list of 25 potential Supreme Court nomi- nees maintained by the White House, as are Lee and Lee’s brother, Thomas, who currently serves on the Utah Supreme Court.
“I interviewed 4 very impressive people yesterday,” Trump tweeted Tuesday morning. “On Monday I will be announcing my decision for Justice of the United States Supreme Court!
White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said Trump plans to interview two or three more potential Supreme Court candidates.