Trump nears Supreme Court choice
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump said Thursday that he has narrowed down — to two or three — the list of contenders he’s considering to fill the vacancy for the Supreme Court seat held by retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.
“I think I have it down to four people. And I think of the four people I have it down to three or two,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
Trump’s current top contenders are federal appeals judges Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Raymond Kethledge, said a person familiar with Trump’s thinking who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Trump plans to announce his selection Monday night. Kennedy, appointed by President Ronald Reagan, has acted as a swing vote on the nine-member court. Trump’s nominee could tip the balance toward conservatives and revisit landmark rulings on abortion access, gay marriage and other issues.
Conservatives and some libertarian-leaning Republicans, including Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, have raised concerns about Kavanaugh, warning he could disappoint Republicans if his past decisions are a guide.
To counter that, Kavanaugh’s allies have begun pushing back, reaching out to influential Republicans to ward off potential criticisms, according to one conservative who was the recipient of such outreach and spoke on condition of anonymity Thursday to discuss the situation.
With the Senate narrowly divided, 51-49, in favor of Republicans, Trump’s announcement will start a contentious confirmation process as Republicans seek to shift the court to the right and Democrats strive to block the effort.
Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., told the president this week that nominating someone hostile to abortion access, or the 2010 health care law, would tarnish his legacy.
Schumer told Trump that such a choice would be “cataclysmic” and create more division than the country has seen in years, according to a person familiar with the conversation who said Trump called Schumer on Tuesday.
The senator also told the president he could unify the country by nominating Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s choice for the Supreme Court who was blocked by Republicans in 2016.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Thursday at an event in Louisville that he, too, has been talking to the president about the search and believes “the president will make a very high-quality appointment.”
McConnell acknowledged that his fellow Kentuckian, Judge Amul Thapar, is a finalist, but noted, “The competition at this level is pretty intense.”
Working closely with a White House team and consulting with lawmakers and outside advisers, Trump has spent the week deliberating on the choice. He conducted interviews Monday and Tuesday. He has not yet publicly indicated that he has narrowed the list and could still consider others in the mix.
Vice President Mike Pence also met with some of Trump’s contenders in recent days, according to a person familiar with the search process. The person did not specify which candidates Pence met with and spoke on condition of anonymity Wednesday to describe the private search process.
Trump is choosing his nominee from a list of 25 candidates vetted by conservative groups. Earlier in the week, he spoke with seven of them.
The president also spoke by phone with Republican Sen. Mike Lee of Utah on Monday. The White House did not characterize that call as an interview, and Lee, the only lawmaker on Trump’s list, is not viewed as a top prospect.
But Lee has consistent support among conservative and libertarian activists, including some Republicans who worry about a nominee not upholding their principles and who say the Utah senator could bring more certainty.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, advocated Thursday for Lee in a Fox News op-ed, warning Trump not to repeat “mistakes” of past Republican presidents by picking a Supreme Court nominee who turns out to be insufficiently conservative.
More than two dozen conservatives, including Paul, wealthy GOP donor Rebekah Mercer and several tea party leaders, signed a letter backing Lee as having a “proven record.”
Some conservatives have pointed to Kethledge as a potential justice in the mold of Neil Gorsuch, Trump’s first Supreme Court nominee last year. Both Kethledge and Gorsuch once served Kennedy as law clerks, as did Kavanaugh. Kethledge, a Michigan Law graduate, would add academic diversity to a court steeped in the Ivy League.
Information for this article was contributed by Ken Thomas and Alan Fram in of The Associated Press.