WASHINGTON (AP) – The Republican game plan for selecting the next member of the Supreme Court was ready to go even before longtime Justice Anthony Kennedy made his retirement announcement this week.
Kennedy’s news that he’ll leave the court next month immediately activated a network of White House aides, congressional allies and outside advocates, all set for their second Supreme Court confirmation fight in two years. With the successful push for Justice Neil Gorsuch still fresh in their minds, their effort this time is expected to follow a similar playbook.
Trump hit the ground running Thursday, meeting with key Republican and Democratic senators at the White House in the evening to discuss the vacancy. Trump welcomed Republicans Chuck Grassley, Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski and Democrats Joe Manchin, Joe Donnelly and Heidi Heitkamp as part of the effort. The White House said Trump’s team also spoke with more than a dozen additional senators.
Speaking earlier in the day in Wisconsin, Trump said: “We’re going to pick ourselves one great United States Supreme Court justice to take the place of a great man.”
White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said Trump had already begun the selection process, adding that it is “something that the president takes very seriously.” Trump’s wish list, she said, includes “tremendous intellect, judicial temperament and impeccable qualifications.”