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Top Trump Allies Preparing For Supreme Court Vacancy

White House officials and a close circle of conservative lawyers are preparing for Donald Trump to be able to hit the ground running if a Supreme Court vacancy opens up during the remaining three and a half years of his second term, according to sources inside and outside the White House.

The discussions are in early stages and focus on finding a nominee in the mold of Samuel Alito, 75, and Clarence Thomas, 77, the two oldest justices, both of whom are considered stalwart conservative jurists who have taken narrow interpretations of the Constitutional text while backing an expansive view of Presidential power.

Shortlists of judges are circulating among Trump allies as they debate who can be best trusted to stick with the Court's conservative wing during an appointment that could last decades.

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by Anonymousreply 15July 30, 2025 6:39 PM

“We are looking for people in the mold of Alito, Clarence Thomas and the late Scalia,” said a White House official familiar with the process, referring to Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in 2016. The official said it was “premature” to say the White House was getting ready for a vacancy.

Republicans currently control the Senate, which must confirm any nominee to the court. The party also controlled the Senate throughout Trump’s first term, allowing Trump to appoint three Justices—Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett— who were all well-regarded in conservative legal circles.

Advisors close to Trump want to set the stage for the smoothest possible confirmation process and avoid the high drama of Kavanaugh’s hearings in 2018 that focused on allegations of sexual assault. Conservative lawyers around Trump are also feeling burned by a handful of recent decisions in which Barrett joined liberal members of the court and want to ensure the next nominee is someone who won’t veer from the conservative bloc.

“There’s a lot of anger at Amy Coney Barrett coming from the MAGA movement,” says Benjamin Wittes, editor in chief of Lawfare and a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. “I think you can imagine a very different type of nominee than we’ve had from Trump in the past.”

Trump will make the final decision on who to put forward for Senate confirmation, says a White House official. Key players in his administration who would be involved in vetting candidates would be Attorney General Pam Bondi, Chief of Staff Susie Wiles, White House Counsel David Warrington and Steve Kenny, the deputy White House counsel for nominations.

Mike Davis, a conservative lawyer and bare-knuckle Trump defender, is also expected to be an influential voice in the process. Davis says he has given the Trump White House a short list of “bold and fearless” nominees for the Supreme Court, and should there be a vacancy, he plans to “play an outside supporting role” to the White House efforts.

Davis, who is founder of the Article III project, a conservative judicial advocacy group, would not confirm which names are on his list. “I have provided my recommended list to the President and his team and I am not going to discuss that list with anyone other than them,” says Davis. He stressed that “the President and the President alone will decide his judicial nominees.”

Two people familiar with the White House vetting process said that the current front runners for a potential Supreme Court vacancy are Andrew Oldham, a 5th circuit judge in Texas, and Neomi Rao, who sits on the influential District of Columbia Circuit Court. Oldham was previously general counsel for Texas Governor Greg Abbott and clerked for Justice Alito. Rao, whose parents are from India, would be the first Asian-American justice on the Supreme Court, and only the seventh woman. Rao clerked for Justice Thomas earlier in her career.

`Davis has also previously floated the name of Aileen Cannon, the judge on the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida who ruled favorably for Trump when he was being investigated for keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago Club.

Other conservative judges considered potential contenders for Trump to name are James Ho, another judge on Texas’s 5th circuit, and two judges in Ohio’s 6th circuit.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington-based think tank that’s best known for spearheading Project 2025, is also expected to work to influence Trump’s decision. John Malcolm, vice president of Heritage’s Institute for Constitutional Government, can list off the top of his head ``more than 10 current circuit court judges he thinks would make strong justices on the nation’s highest court.

Malcolm also believes Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a former assistant U.S. attorney who clerked for Alito, would be an “excellent choice.” While Lee isn’t a sitting judge, he “isn’t afraid to speak his mind,” says Malcolm, who adds that Lee has a track record of legislation and books that show he’s a textualist and originalist.

by Anonymousreply 1July 30, 2025 1:40 PM

Let’s work and pray for a Dem Senate in 2 years to block whomever Trump nominates.

Unfortunately Schumer bends over every fucking time.

by Anonymousreply 2July 30, 2025 3:21 PM

[Quote] Malcolm also believes Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a former assistant U.S. attorney who clerked for Alito, would be an “excellent choice.” While Lee isn’t a sitting judge, he “isn’t afraid to speak his mind,” says Malcolm, who adds that Lee has a track record of legislation and books that show he’s a textualist and originalist.

Lee is a piece of shit who would be crazy right wing

by Anonymousreply 3July 30, 2025 3:22 PM

They are looking for a conservative recent law school graduate who can extend their reach almost into the next Century.

by Anonymousreply 4July 30, 2025 3:31 PM

Who could be worse than "Coke Can" and "Strip Search Sammy"? Leave it to Trump and his minions to find two people far, far worse.

by Anonymousreply 5July 30, 2025 3:41 PM

My money is on Florida cunt Aileen Cannon. Remember Dump is transactional and she did him a solid by making the stealing classified documents case go away.

by Anonymousreply 6July 30, 2025 3:57 PM

NO NO NO. Theres got to be something to prevent a corrupt president from nominating still more judges to the Supreme Court.

by Anonymousreply 7July 30, 2025 4:01 PM

Yes, R7, and that "something" is VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE Democratic.

It's not that hard, really.

by Anonymousreply 8July 30, 2025 4:04 PM

I'm sure, R6, that it's still a YUGE disappointment that Flailing Aileen wasn't assigned the suit against the WSJ and Rupert Murdoch. You know Trump didn't randomly choose the Southern district of Florida but alas it was assigned to another judge and I hear a judge that has very little patience for frivolous litigation. Sad.

by Anonymousreply 9July 30, 2025 4:06 PM

Just pray we don't lose any one of the three Liberals left on the court. They already have their majority. Hopefully they might accidentally choose someone who has read the Constitution. It won't be Cannon because Trump will think too many women are already on the bench.

by Anonymousreply 10July 30, 2025 4:27 PM

[quote] Malcolm also believes Senator Mike Lee of Utah, a former assistant U.S. attorney who clerked for Alito, would be an “excellent choice.”

Oh yeah, Mike Lee is a great choice.

He's the asshole who posted those foul Tweets, after the Minnesota State Representative shooting:

[italic]Following the June 2025 shooting deaths of Minnesota State Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband, Mark, Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) posted several controversial messages on X (formerly Twitter).

These posts included:

"This is what happens When Marxists don't get their way," accompanied by photos of the alleged shooter, Vance Boelter.

"Nightmare on Waltz street," which appeared to reference and misspell Minnesota Governor Tim Walz's name.

A third post, later deleted, that called Marxism a "deadly mental illness" in response to the shootings.

These comments sparked widespread criticism from both Democrats and Republicans, who deemed them insensitive, inappropriate, and reckless. Many criticized Lee for politicizing a tragedy and spreading misinformation about the shooter's motives and political affiliations.

Minnesota Senator Tina Smith confronted Lee about his posts, expressing the pain and hurt they caused. Lee subsequently deleted the posts after discussions with Smith and Senator Amy Klobuchar.[/italic]

by Anonymousreply 11July 30, 2025 4:51 PM

Trump could actually appoint additional SC justices anytime he wants. There's never been anything saying what the number has to be.

I'm sure he doesn't know that, because I imagine no one's told him.

by Anonymousreply 12July 30, 2025 5:00 PM

Trump could actually appoint additional SC justices anytime he wants. There's never been anything saying what the number has to be.

I'm sure he doesn't know that, because I imagine no one's told him.

by Anonymousreply 13July 30, 2025 5:00 PM

Sorry for the double post.

by Anonymousreply 14July 30, 2025 5:05 PM

Good lawd SL @R13, I hadn't thought of that. And after all of the Democrats and their pearl clutching over expanding the court. I could see Trump adding five seats like it's no big deal and the GQP falling in line.

by Anonymousreply 15July 30, 2025 6:39 PM
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