Sen. Cotton on Trump’s list as potential Supreme Court justice
by September 9, 2020 4:54 pm 952 views
U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., was among 20 additional individuals named by President Trump as potential Supreme Court nominees at the White House on Wednesday (Sept. 9).
Afterwards, Cotton released a statement saying, “I’m honored that President Trump asked me to consider serving on the Supreme Court and I’m grateful for his confidence. I will always heed the call of service to our nation. The Supreme Court could use some more justices who understand the difference between applying the law and making the law, which the Court does when it invents a right to an abortion, infringes on religious freedom, and erodes the Second Amendment.”
Cotton graduated from Harvard Law School and served a clerkship with the U.S. Court of Appeals before entering private practice. He left the legal profession to volunteer for the United States Army as an infantry officer after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Trump said presidential candidates owe the American people a list of their potential Supreme Court nominees and called on his Democratic opponent, Joe Biden, to release his own list. He said important decisions have been decided by one vote, and over the next four years the next president would select up to four Supreme Court justices.
Also on the list were Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Tex., and Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Missouri.
Trump released a list of 21 potential Supreme Court nominees during the 2016 campaign. The 20 announced today are in addition to his original list.
Trump’s first nominee, Justice Neil Gorsuch, was among those listed during the campaign. His second nominee, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was not on that list.
He said his nominee for a Supreme Court vacancy would come from these lists and that they would-be “jurists in the mold (of) Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito” – three staunchly conservative justices. Nominees must be confirmed by the Senate.
Two of the Court’s liberal members are also its two oldest. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is 87, while Justice Stephen Breyer is 82. Thomas is the next oldest at 72, while Alito is 70.
Trump said a radical left Supreme Court majority would “erase the 2nd Amendment, silence political speech and require taxpayers to fund extreme late-term abortion.” It also would “remove the words ‘under God’ from the Pledge of Allegiance.”
The other names on Trump’s list released Sept. 9 are as follows:
- Judge Bridget Bade, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron
- Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Judge Stuart Kyle Duncan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Steven Engel, assistant attorney general for the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice
- Noel Francisco, former U.S. solicitor general
- Judge James Ho, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Judge Gregory Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Judge Barbara Lagoa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Christopher Landau
- Florida Supreme Court Justice Carlos Muñiz
- Judge Martha Pacold, U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Judge Peter Phipps, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Judge Sarah Pitlyk, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- Judge Allison Jones Rushing, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Kate Todd, deputy assistant to the president and deputy counsel to the president
- Judge Lawrence VanDyke, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit