On September 16, President Donald Trump announced a new slate of 20 potential nominees to the Supreme Court in the event of a vacancy in his second term in office or the remainder of his first term.
President Trump is slowly building key issues that will encourage conservative voters to support him this November 2020. The names that the president listed are additions to an original list that has been updated in the past four years.
Supreme Court pick
During one of his White House press briefings, President Trump called appointing justices to the Supreme Court the most important decision that an American president can make. The president said that if he wins a second term, he could be called upon to name four new justices.
President Trump said that since the task is very important, it is right to tell the American people of the list of individuals he is considering for the United States Supreme Court, according to CNN.
The latest addition to President Trump's list includes three sitting U.S senators; they are Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, and Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri. The president also included his current lawyers that are working for his administration.
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Former Solicitor General Noel Francisco, who argued on behalf of the Trump administration before the Supreme Court, is also included in the list of the new contenders, as well as former Solicitor General Paul Clement, who worked under President George W. Bush.
President Trump also raised familiar names such as Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Thomas Hardiman of the 3rd U.S Circuit Court of Appeals, both of whom were considered to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy's seat after his retirement in 2018.
After the death of U.S Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, both Republicans and Democrats are now waiting on who will take her place.
There are two Supreme Court justices that are of old age, Justice Stephen Breyer is now 82 years old, and the longest-serving member of the Supreme Court, Justice Clarence Thomas, is now 72 years old.
Attacking Biden
At the White House, the president derided former Vice President and candidate Joe Biden for not releasing his own list of Supreme Court nominees, claiming that Biden has not done so because his candidates would be "so far left that they could never withstand public scrutiny."
President Trump mentioned in June 2020 that he would roll out his list of potential justices after his administration's efforts to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program were blocked by the high court in a close 5-4 decision.
The president then vowed to select a nominee that is exclusively from the list, and now the people are waiting who he will pick to fill the spot of Ginsburg.
The appointment of a new Supreme Court justice is anticipated by the American people. According to a poll conducted by CBS News, 70% of Americans said that appointments to the Supreme Court is an important factor in deciding their vote for president.
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