Regardless of how you feel about Trump, you have to marvel at the strategy behind these Supreme Court picks. All are solid conservatives. All of the judges, on this list, were on previous lists, and were appointees of G.W. And the other details of these folks will just let you know that they weren’t chosen without seriously close scrutiny. And all are from states where Trump struggled in the primaries. Here’s more…
Donald J. Trump on Wednesday unveiled a list of prospective Supreme Court nominees, seeking to pacify veteran Republicans who fear he does not take judicial matters seriously and to reassure conservatives that his appointees would reflect a right-leaning philosophy. Here is a look at his possible picks:
Steven M. Colloton, Iowa
Born: 1963
Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Background: Judge Colloton, who was nominated by President George W. Bush in 2003, once clerked for Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist and was an associate independent counsel on the Whitewater investigation in the mid-1990s.
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Allison H. Eid, Colorado
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Allison H. Eid was sworn in as a justice on Colorado’s Supreme Court in 2006.CreditLinda Mcconnell/Rocky Mountain News, via Associated Press
Background: Justice Eid, who was appointed in 2006 by Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican, previously served as the state’s solicitor general and clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas. A native of Spokane, Wash., she was a speechwriter for William J. Bennett, a secretary of education in the Reagan administration, before attending law school.
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Raymond W. Gruender, Missouri
Born: 1963
Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Background: Judge Gruender, who has been suggested by conservatives as a possible nominee before, was nominated for his current post by President Bush in 2003. He has also worked as a prosecutor, serving as the United States attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, in St. Louis. His political background includes working as Missouri state political director for Bob Dole’s 1996 presidential campaign.
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Thomas M. Hardiman, Pennsylvania
Born: 1965
Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Background: Judge Hardiman was nominated by President Bush in 2003 after over a decade in private practice. He grew up in Waltham, Mass., and graduated from Notre Dame. Among his notable cases was a 2014 decision overturning Philadelphia’s 95-year ban on political contributions by police officers.
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Raymond M. Kethledge, Michigan
Born: 1966
Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Background: Judge Kethledge, confirmed months before President Bush left office, worked as a clerk for Justice Anthony M. Kennedy. This year, he wrote a decision ordering the Internal Revenue Service to provide information about tax-exempt applications as part of a Tea Party lawsuit that accused the agency of unfairly targeting conservatives.
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Joan L. Larsen, Michigan
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Joan L. Larsen in Washington on March 1.CreditRex Features/Associated Press
Born: 1968
Position: Michigan Supreme Court
Background: Judge Larsen, who was named to the state court last fall by Gov. Rick Snyder, a Republican, is up for election in November to complete the term, which expires in 2018. She spent several years as a law professor at the University of Michigan and clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia.
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Thomas R. Lee, Utah
Born: 1964
Position: Utah Supreme Court
Background: Justice Lee, who has held his current post since 2010, is the brother of Senator Mike Lee of Utah (who endorsed Senator Ted Cruz in the Republican primary) and the son of Rex E. Lee, who was United States solicitor general under President Ronald Reagan.
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William H. Pryor Jr., Alabama
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William H. Pryor Jr. in Montgomery, Ala., in 2004.CreditMickey Welsh/Montgomery Advertiser, via Associated Press
Born: 1962
Position: United States Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit
Background: Judge Pryor was Alabama’s attorney general when he was nominated by President Bush in 2003. That year, he was at the center of a national firestorm when he called for the removal of the state’s chief justice, Roy S. Moore, who had refused to obey a federal court order to remove a Ten Commandments monument from the state’s judicial building. Judge Pryor initially supported Judge Moore but wound up leading the prosecution that led to his ouster from the bench.
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David R. Stras, Minnesota
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David R. Stras in St. Paul, Minn., in 2010.CreditJim Mone/Associated Press
Born: 1974
Position: Minnesota Supreme Court
Background: Justice Stras, who has been on the court since 2010 and was elected to a six-year term in 2012, was previously a faculty member at the University of Minnesota Law School. His selection six years ago by Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, stunned much of the state’s judicial world, given Mr. Stras’s age at the time (35) and that he had spent most of his time in academia.
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Diane S. Sykes, Wisconsin
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Diane S. Sykes in Racine, Wis., in 2004.CreditMark Hertzberg/Journal Times, via Associated Press
Born: 1957
Position: United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Background: Judge Sykes, who was nominated by President Bush in 2003, has been mentioned before by Mr. Trump as a possible choice. She is the former wife of Charlie Sykes, a prominent Wisconsin radio host who fiercely opposed Mr. Trump before the state’s primary last month, which Mr. Trump lost decisively.
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Don R. Willett, Texas
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Don R. Willett in Austin in 2015.CreditEric Gay/Associated Press
Born: 1966
Position: Texas Supreme Court
Background: Justice Willett, appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2005, served as an adviser to George W. Bush in the Texas governor’s office and in the White House. He then worked in the Justice Department office that coordinates the judicial nomination and confirmation process with the White House and the Senate. Later he was deputy attorney general under Greg Abbott, now the state’s governor. Last June, Justice Willett, an eager Twitter user, weighed in on the prospect of a President Trump’s imprint on the Supreme Court:
