"We must pick a big one": Inside Trump's plan for a new Supreme Court justice



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President Donald Trump tries to execute the same scenario by selecting a new Supreme Court candidate who confirmed Judge Neil Gorsuch last year, following a methodical course in the hope of Avoid the disorder that so often invades his White House.

While Trump seeks to reorient the nation's high court by replacing the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, he has left little room for improvisation – in part because he has delegated and outsourced a lot of the work. model, the president said his next candidate would be selected from a shortlist of 25 candidates, most of them already enrolled in federal courts and subject to public and internal scrutiny.

The interview process for half a dozen or so finalists start, including private sit-ins with Trump starting this weekend at his Bedminster, New Jersey, golf course, as well as meetings with Donald McGahn White House advisers and official FBI background checks. An announcement date has also been set: July 9, the first Monday after the holidays of July 4 and the day before Trump travels to Brussels for a European trip of one week.

With only four months until the mid-term elections Senate gains would jeopardize a Trump candidate, the White House is working with Republican leaders of the Senate to set a quick deadline for voting. a candidate by October so that they can enjoy the slim majority of the GOP in the House. Trump and White House leaders are already personally lobbying key senators, working to plow the ground in anticipation of what should be a fierce battle for nominations

Trump says he understands the stakes

"Out of war and peace, of course, the most important decision you make is the selection of a Supreme Court judge," the president told reporters on Friday.

In most other areas, Trump quickly rejects standards and resists the established order. Where previous presidents have zigued, the 45th almost always wants to zag. But not when it comes to the Supreme Court. Up to now, at least, Trump is leading his advisers, two of whom have deep roots in the Washington Conservative network: McGahn and Leonard Leo, who is on leave from the Federalist Society to give informal advice on judicial appointments

. Trump has developed strategies with McGahn, Leo and others to fill vacancies in federal courts in order to permanently move the judiciary to the right. The pace has been historic – and for the Conservatives the result has been an undeniable success.

"This president had a vision," said Leo. "He did something entrepreneurial and different .He had a very clear sense of what he wanted, he spent a lot of time asking questions about [the late] Justice [Antonin] Scalia and Justice [Clarence] Thomas and other members of the court, and he got to know Judge Kennedy bit. been really impressed by the way he directed this process.He has control of it. "

Trump told advisors that he was looking for three general attributes to replace Kennedy.First of all, a counselor said, Trump insists on an "extraordinarily qualified" candidate with a superlative resume and is particularly attracted to aspiring graduates, such as Ivy League universities such as Harvard or Yale, but he also wants to see a portfolio of solid academic writings, even if this eiller acknowledged that Trump does not care to read it.

Secondly, Trump said that it is essential that his candidate is not "weak," that is, someone with an independent judgment and the courage of "fashion political and social of the time, "as the advisor said.

Third, Trump privately says that he wants a candidate who "will interpret the Constitution as the editors wanted it," according to the counselor, who spoke on condition of anonymity to tell a private discussion with the President. nt.

And as he does for all candidates for a job, Trump will also be looking for personal chemistry products, central casting looks and storytelling stories. Last year, Trump was attracted to Thomas Hardiman, Gorsuch's finalist at the court contest, in part because of his working-clbad roots. Hardiman was the first of his family to finish school, pay for his studies while driving a taxi, and is now a judge at the Federal Court of Appeal in Pittsburgh, a Pennsylvania area where Trump has a strong political influence [19659015] Prospective Court argued that presidents should not be bothered by polls, prosecutions “clbad =” trb_em_ic_img “title =” Top Cour suprême a avancé que les présidents ne devraient pas être dérangés par des sondages, des poursuites “data-c-nd =” 1797×1197 “/> Trump's shortlist could also include US appellate judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, the Judge of the US circuit Brett Kavanaugh of Maryland, a former forensic Kennedy, Michigan circuit judge Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, who was a finalist last year, and Amul Thapar, judge of the US Court of Appeals. Kentucky

On Wednesday night last night in Fargo, North Dakota, just hours after Kennedy announced his retirement, Trump told a large public. At a campaign rally, he was "honored" with 39; have the opportunity to choose his replacement and talk about his criteria.

"We have a choice to make," Trump said. "We have to choose a good choice. We must choose one that will be there for 40 years, 45 years. We need intellect. We need so much to do. You know, there are so many elements that go into the makeup of a grand judge of the Supreme Court. You must hit each of them. "

Although he and his collaborators were hoping Kennedy could retire this summer at the end of the court's tenure – and found ways to subtly encourage him to do it – the 81-year-old Trump was on the phone with the Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, R-Ky, and asked him if he thought Kennedy would resign – he'd believe it when he'd see it – and that he'd heard Kennedy would not pull out before years, according to two people familiar with the conversation.

A few hours later, Kennedy was in the White House to personally notify Trump of his decision.The President and McConnell spoke again, according to two officials of the US. call, and they emphasized the importance of the vacancy Kennedy was the critical vote, and replacing him with a convinced conservative would reinforce the majority of the right on the

Josh Holmes, a close adviser to McConnell, dec "It is almost impossible to overestimate the size of an agreement [the Kennedy vacancy is] for the conservatives as a whole, but obviously very specifically for the Trump administration. I think that if you are right, there is absolutely nothing to criticize about how this administration has handled judicial appointments.

Carrie Severino, chief counsel and policy director of the conservative Judicial Crisis Network, said, "This is really a second chance for him to fulfill one of his most important election promises.

Democratic leaders say the Senate should wait after the mid-term elections for the newly elected Senate to consider the candidate early in 2019. They argue that a delay would be in keeping with McConnell's precedent established in 2016, when he postponed the election of Merrick Garland, President Obama's candidate for the seat of Scalia, after the presidential election. Gorsuch, who was confirmed in April 2017 by a vote of 54 to 45.

The Republican Plan is for Trump's candidate to pbad the second half of July and early August by paying courtesy calls to the Senators on Capitol Hill and preparing confirmation hearings, which could begin in late August, with committee votes in early September and a ground vote later this month so that the judge can be sworn in on Oct. 1. [19659002"Ilyaunecroyancequecelanedevraitpastraîner"adéclaréMarcShortdirecteurdesaffaireslégislativesdelaMaisonWhite"Leprocessusdenotrepartdevraitsedéroulerbadezrapidementparcequeleprésidentaeuletempsd'examinerlamêmelistedepuisqu'ill'adiffuséependantlacampagneilaeul'occasiondemieuxconnaîtreplusieursdecescandidatslorsdeladernièrebataille"

Awareness of the White House to d & # 39; other senators began almost immediately. Thursday night, when Trump returned from North Dakota and Wisconsin, half a dozen senators who would influence the fate of Trump's candidate met Trump

Charles Grbadley, R-Iowa, chairman of the Judiciary Committee of the Senate, who will oversee Audiences confirmation – and Sens. Heidi Heitkamp, ​​ND, Joe Manchin III, W.Va., and Joe Donnelly, Ind., – a trio of Democrats who supported Gorsuch – met Trump one-on-one. The president also met, together, Susan Collins, Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, Alaska, two Republicans who support abortion rights.

In Manchin's private session with Trump, the president asked the senator for a contribution on the type of justice he should appoint. Manchin recommended a centrist jurist who would respect the rule of law and the Constitution, the senator recalled.

"The discussion did not unfold," will you support those I've put in place? ", Said Manchin Hoppy Kercheval, radio host in Virginia." He knows me better than that. "

White House officials also made appeals to at least a dozen senators who will play key roles in the confirmation struggle – a list that includes members of the Judiciary Committee , persuasive senators and members of the Republican leadership, according to a senior White House official. In addition, officials discussed the vacancy with Senator Mike Lee, R-Utah, the only legislator on Trump's list of 25 potential choices, according to a spokesman for the senator.

Missing from the list of appeals so far, according to aides: Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, DN.Y., and Senator Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic Top Committee Member judicial.

"Everyone has recently done exercise, so muscle memory on the confirmation process is very strong.Now, and especially on the Hill, Chief McConnell shows that he knows how to do it and that he's already ready to start, "said Jason Miller, a former Trump campaign advisor

Trump, a former reality TV producer and star, likes to create suspense around his presidential decisions and watch The media cover the drama.On the Air Force One on Friday, he told reporters that he had seen Lee complaining about his appointment to the Supreme Court.

"I l. I saw on television last night, where he said he'd like the job. "" You know, usually they do not say that. "

Trump was quick to compliment Lee: "Very good guy, very talented, very smart." But he unveiled Utahan as his candidate on the 9th July, the president let everyone guess.

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