Trump's List Of Potential SCOTUS Justices Includes Minn. Judge
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) — Donald Trump, the presumptive Republican nominee for president, has released a list of 11 potential Supreme Court justices he plans to vet to fill the seat of late Justice Antonin Scalia if he's elected to the White House.
Trump's picks include Steven Colloton of Iowa, Allison Eid of Colorado and Raymond Gruender of Missouri.
Also on the list are: Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, Joan Larsen of Michigan, Thomas Lee of Utah, William Pryor of Alabama, David Stras of Minnesota, Diane Sykes of Wisconsin and Don Willett of Texas. Trump had previously named Pryor and Sykes as examples of kind of justices he would choose.
The news comes as Trump is working to bring together a fractured Republican Party and earn the trust of skill-skeptical establishment Republicans who question his electability in the general election and conservatives in his party still weary of his commitment to their cause.
In a statement, Trump said the list "is representative of the kind of constitutional principles I value" and said that, as president, he would use it "as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court Justices."
His campaign stressed the list was compiled "first and foremost, based on constitutional principles, with input from highly respected conservatives and Republican Party leadership."
Trump first said in March that he planned to release the list of five to 10 judges in an effort to ease concerns about his conservative credentials, which had come under attack in the heated Republican primary.
"I am going to give a list of either five or 10 judges that I will pick, 100 percent pick, that I will put in for nomination. Because some of the people that are against me say: 'We don't know if he's going to pick the right judge. Supposing he picks a liberal judge or supposing he picks a pro-choice judge,'" Trump said at an event in Palm Beach, Florida.
He said then the list would include judges "that everybody respects, likes and totally admires" — "great conservative judges, great intellects, the people that you want."
The vow marked a rare moment of acknowledgment by Trump that he could be doing more to appease those in his party opposed his candidacy.
Trump had said he would like to appoint judges in the mold of deeply conservative as Scalia, who died in February.
In the statement, he described Scalia as "a remarkable person and a brilliant Supreme Court Justice."
"His career was defined by his reverence for the Constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans' most cherished freedoms," he added. "He was a justice who did not believe in legislating from the bench and he is a person whom I held in the highest regard and will always greatly respect his intelligence and conviction to uphold the Constitution of our country."
A Look At Trump's Supreme Court Picks
STEVEN COLLOTON, Iowa
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge was appointed by Republican President George W. Bush in 2003. Educated at Princeton and Yale universities, Colloton is a former federal prosecutor for the Southern District of Iowa and clerked for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
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ALLISON EID, Colorado
The associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court has served in the seat since 2006, when she was appointed by former Republican Gov. Bill Owens and retained by the voters in 2011. Educated at the University of Chicago, Eid is a former state solicitor general and clerked for Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.
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RAYMOND GRUENDER, Missouri
The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge was appointed by Bush in 2004. He is a former federal prosecutor and received his law degree and a master's degree in business from Washington University of St. Louis.
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THOMAS HARDIMAN, Pennsylvania
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge was appointed by Bush and confirmed to that seat in 2007. Bush also appointed him U.S. District Court judge for the Western District of Pennsylvania in 2003. He was schooled at the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University.
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RAYMOND KETHLEDGE, Michigan
The 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge was first nominated by Bush in 2006, but due to a backup of judicial nominations in the Senate, was not confirmed until 2008. He worked as a counsel to former Sen. Spencer Abraham, R-Mich., and clerked for Justice Anthony Kennedy. He received a law degree from the University of Michigan.
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JOAN LARSEN, Michigan
The associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court was a law professor when she was appointed last year by Republican Gov. Rick Snyder. She received her law degree from Northwestern University. Earlier in her career, she was assistant attorney general in the Justice Department and clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia. After Scalia's death, she wrote that Scalia's passing "leaves a giant void in the court and in the intellectual discourse over the law. It is difficult to imagine anyone filling the gap."
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THOMAS LEE, Utah
The associate justice of the Utah Supreme Court was appointed by Republican Gov. Gary Herbert in 2010. He is the brother of U.S. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a staunch ally of former GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz. He's also the son of Rex Lee, a U.S. solicitor general in President Ronald Reagan's administration. Lee never served as a judge before Herbert picked him for Utah's high court. He worked in private practice, and was a deputy assistant attorney general under Bush and clerked for Thomas. He earned his law degree at the University of Chicago.
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WILLIAM PRYOR, Jr. Alabama
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge was appointed by Bush and confirmed in 2004. He also is a member of the U.S. Sentencing Commission. His a former state attorney general and law professor and earned his law degree at Tulane University.
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DAVID STRAS, Minnesota
The associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court was elected to a six-year term in 2012. He received his law degree and master's degree in business from the University of Kansas, and clerked for Thomas.
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DIANE SYKES, Wisconsin
The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge was appointed to the post in 2003 by Bush and confirmed the following year. She is a former state Supreme Court judge and received her law degree from Marquette University.
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DON WILLETT, Texas
The Texas Supreme Court justice was appointed in 2005 by then-Gov. Rick Perry, who was one of Trump's many early challengers for the GOP presidential nomination, and was twice re-elected. He's a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department and received his law and master's degrees from Duke University.
In March, Willett took a swipe at Trump's conservatism, tweeting: "Can't wait till Trump rips off his face Mission Impossible-style & reveals a laughing Ruth Bader Ginsburg."
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