USA TODAY: Trump adds new names to SCOTUS list, includes Sen. Mike Lee
Trump adds new names to SCOTUS list, includes Sen. Mike Lee
Eliza Collins, USA TODAYDonald Trump is expanding his list of potential Supreme Court picks he might appoint to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, calling the cumulative 21 people “definitive.”
On Friday the Republican nominee released an official list of 10 more people he may choose for the bench if elected.
“We have a very clear choice in this election. The freedoms we cherish and the constitutional values and principles our country was founded on are in jeopardy. The responsibility is greater than ever to protect and uphold these freedoms and I will appoint justices, who like Justice Scalia, will protect our liberty with the highest regard for the Constitution,” Trump said in a statement. “This list is definitive and I will choose only from it in picking future Justices of the United States Supreme Court.”
Sen. Mike Lee of Utah, who has not endorsed Trump, made the list. His brother, a Utah Supreme Court justice, was included in Trump’s first version.
Lee, however, politely declined being considered in a statement emailed by his spokesman Friday.
“The Supreme Court is very important and I appreciate being considered. Right now I’m focused on my job in the Senate, where I’m in a good position to defend the Constitution by fighting against government overreach. Both lists that I’ve seen from the Trump campaign are fantastic. While my brother and I might disagree as to which list is better, they’re both great.”
Trump’s previous list of 11 conservative judges was released in May.
Trump’s final list is below:
1. Keith Blackwell
2. Charles Canady
3. Steven Colloton
4. Allison Eid
5. Neil Gorsuch
6. Raymond Gruender
7. Thomas Hardiman
8. Raymond Kethledge
9. Joan Larsen
10. Mike Lee
11. Thomas Lee
12. Edward Mansfield
13. Federico Moreno
14. William Pryor
15. Margaret A. Ryan
16. Amul Thapar
17. Timothy Tymkovich
18. David Stras
19. Diane Sykes
20. Don Willett
21. Robert Young