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With the advice and consent of the United States Senate, the president of the United States appoints the members of the Supreme Court of the United States, which is the highest court of the federal judiciary of the United States. Following his victory in the 2016 presidential election, Republican Donald Trump took office as president on January 20, 2017, and faced an immediate vacancy on the Supreme Court due to the February 2016 death of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia.

During the 2016 campaign, Trump had released two lists of potential nominees to the Supreme Court. After taking office, he nominated Neil Gorsuch to succeed Scalia, and Gorsuch was confirmed in April 2017. In November 2017, five more names were added to the previous lists of potential nominees. In June 2018, Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, creating a second vacancy on the Supreme Court. In early July 2018, Trump nominated Brett Kavanaugh as his replacement; Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6, 2018. Following the death of Associate Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18, 2020, Trump nominated Amy Coney Barrett as her replacement on September 26, 2020. Exactly a month later on October 26, 2020, Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52–48.

The Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett confirmations were enabled by a rule change made by Senate Republicans in 2017, which applied the so-called nuclear option to Supreme Court nominees and allowed nominations to be advanced by a simple majority vote rather than the historical norm of a three-fifths supermajority vote.[1] Leonard Leo played a crucial role in selecting Trump's appointees and helping them successfully navigate their Senate confirmation hearings.[2][3]

Court composition under Trump

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See also: List of justices of the Supreme Court of the United States

President Donald Trump began his term in January 2017 with a vacancy to be filled as a result of the February 2016 death of Justice Antonin Scalia. As three of the Court's justices at the time—Ruth Bader Ginsburg (born 1933), Anthony Kennedy (born 1936) and Stephen Breyer (born 1938)—were aged 78 or older, speculation arose that additional vacancies could occur during Trump's four-year presidential term.[4] Because Ginsburg and Breyer were part of the liberal wing of the Court and Kennedy was a swing vote who often aligned with them on social issues, many top political analysts saw Trump's term as a chance for Republicans to reshape the court significantly towards a more conservative vision of the law.[5][6] On June 27, 2018, this became a real possibility when Justice Kennedy officially announced his retirement.[7] Following the death of Ginsburg on September 18, 2020,[8] and the subsequent confirmation of Amy Coney Barrett on October 26, 2020,[9] the Supreme Court had the following nine justices:

Name Appointed Appointed by Law school (JD or LLB)
John Roberts
(Chief Justice) 		2005 George W. Bush Harvard University
Clarence Thomas 1991 George H. W. Bush Yale University
Stephen Breyer 1994 Bill Clinton Harvard University
Samuel Alito 2006 George W. Bush Yale University
Sonia Sotomayor 2009 Barack Obama Yale University
Elena Kagan 2010 Harvard University
Neil Gorsuch 2017 Donald Trump Harvard University
Brett Kavanaugh 2018 Yale University
Amy Coney Barrett 2020 University of Notre Dame

Nomination of Neil Gorsuch

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Main article: Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court nomination
Judge Neil Gorsuch, his wife Louise,[10] and President Donald Trump during the announcement in the East Room of the White House.

On February 13, 2016, Associate Justice Antonin Scalia died while vacationing at Cibolo Creek Ranch near Marfa, Texas.[11] Scalia's death marked just the second time in 60 years that a sitting Supreme Court justice died.[12] This resulted in there being a Supreme Court vacancy during the last year of Barack Obama's presidency.

Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate majority leader, stated that the new president, whoever won the 2016 election, should replace Scalia, while President Obama stated that he planned to nominate someone to replace Scalia on the Supreme Court.[13] On February 23, the 11 Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee signed a letter to McConnell stating their intention to withhold consent on any nominee made by Obama, and that no hearings would occur until after January 20, 2017, when the new president took office.[14][15] On March 16, 2016, Obama nominated then-chief judge Merrick Garland (of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit), to replace Scalia.[16] After Garland's nomination, McConnell reiterated his position that the Senate would not consider any Supreme Court nomination until a new president took office.[16] Garland's nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the Senate having taken no action on it.[17]

Trump rejected any move by Obama to fill the vacancy, maintaining that picking a successor to Scalia should be done by the next president.[18] During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump released two lists of potential Supreme Court nominees. On May 18, 2016, he released a short list of 11 judges for nomination to the Scalia vacancy.[19] Then, on September 23, 2016, he released a second list of 10 possible nominees, this time including three minorities.[20] Both lists were assembled by lawyers associated with the Federalist Society and The Heritage Foundation.[21]

Days after Trump's inauguration, Politico named three individuals as the front-runners for Scalia's position: Neil Gorsuch, Thomas Hardiman and Bill Pryor, with Trump reportedly later narrowing his list down to Gorsuch and Hardiman.[22][23] At the time of the nomination, Gorsuch, Hardiman, and Pryor were all federal appellate judges who had been appointed by President George W. Bush.[24] President Trump and White House counsel Don McGahn interviewed those three individuals as well as Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Kentucky in the weeks before the nomination.[21] Trump announced Gorsuch as his nominee on January 31.[21][25] The Senate confirmed Gorsuch by a 54–45 vote on April 7, 2017, with votes from 51 Republicans and 3 Democrats.[26] He was sworn into office as an associate justice of the Supreme Court on April 10.[27]

Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

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Main article: Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination
Judge Brett Kavanaugh and his family with President Donald Trump in 2018

On June 27, 2018, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, effective July 31,[28][29] giving Trump an opportunity to send a second Supreme Court nominee to the Senate for confirmation. Kavanaugh was officially nominated on July 9, selected from among a list of "25 highly qualified potential nominees" considered by the Trump Administration.[30][31] Kavanaugh's nomination was officially sent to the Senate on July 10, 2018, and confirmation hearings began on September 4. The hearings took longer than initially expected over objections to the withholding of documents pertinent to Kavanaugh's time in the Bush administration as a lawyer, and due to the presence of protestors.[32][33]

On September 16, 2018, Christine Blasey Ford alleged a then-17 year old Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982, in what she described as an attempted rape.[34] The accusation delayed the scheduled September 20 vote. After Ford's accusation, Kavanaugh indicated he would not withdraw.[35] Ford's allegations were followed by an accusation of sexual assault by Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez,[36] and a letter from Julie Swetnick accusing Kavanaugh of gang rape in high school.[37] Ford and Kavanaugh appeared before the Senate Judiciary Committee for a hearing on September 27, and were questioned by Arizona sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell and members of the Senate.[38][39] The Judiciary Committee voted to approve Kavanaugh on September 28 after Jeff Flake, considered to be a swing vote, declared his intent to vote in favor of the nomination with the provision that there would be a new FBI investigation into the allegations by Ford.[40] The investigation concluded on October 4. Two days later, Kavanaugh was confirmed by a 50–48 vote, and sworn in that same day.

Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett

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Main article: Amy Coney Barrett Supreme Court nomination
President Donald Trump nominates Judge Amy Coney Barrett in the Rose Garden of the White House.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg died on September 18, 2020. The following day, Trump stated that any successor of Ginsburg would "most likely" be a woman.[41] On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Trump intended to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. On October 26, 2020, Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52–48.[42][43] She was sworn in the next day.

Possible nominees

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Below is a list of individuals which President Trump identified as his potential nominees for Supreme Court appointments. Most of them were revealed in two lists released by the Trump campaign in 2016. Others were added in a revised list released by the White House on November 17, 2017[44] and a fourth list released on September 9, 2020.[45]

Following the nomination of Amul Thapar to the Sixth Circuit, it was reported that Trump might try to season some of the candidates on his list with federal appellate court experience prior to potential nomination to the Supreme Court.[46] Indeed, Trump later elevated a number of state court judges from his list to fill vacant positions on the federal Courts of Appeals: Joan Larsen (Sixth Circuit), David Stras (Eighth Circuit), Allison H. Eid (Tenth Circuit), Don Willett (Fifth Circuit), and Britt Grant (Eleventh Circuit). Conversely, two previous Trump appointees to the Courts of Appeals—Amy Coney Barrett (Seventh Circuit) and Kevin Newsom (Eleventh Circuit)—were later added to the list of potential Supreme Court candidates.

Despite speculation that Trump might consider other candidates for a possible second Supreme Court nomination, he said in May 2017 that he would make his next appointment from the same list he used to choose Gorsuch (the combined 21 names given on either of the two lists he released during the campaign), describing the list as "a big thing" for him and his supporters.[47] Trump added five further candidates to the list on November 17, 2017.

Note:
Names marked with a single asterisk (*) were included on the original short list of eleven potential candidates for the Scalia vacancy released by the Trump campaign on May 18, 2016.
Names marked with a double asterisk (**) were included on the additional short list of ten more potential candidates released on September 23, 2016.
Names marked with a dagger (†) were added to the revised short list of November 17, 2017.
Names marked with a double dagger (‡) were included on the additional short list of twenty more potential candidates released on September 9, 2020.

Courts of Appeals

United States courts of appeals

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United States district courts

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State supreme courts

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Executive branch

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United States senators

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State executive branches

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Willett was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the Texas Supreme Court. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Willett to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Willett was confirmed on December 13, 2017, and this appointment is considered to enhance his potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy.
  2. ^ Larsen was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the Michigan Supreme Court. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Larsen to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Larsen was confirmed on November 1, 2017, and this appointment is considered to enhance her potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy.
  3. ^ Thapar was originally placed on Trump's (second) short list for the Supreme Court as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Thapar to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Thapar was confirmed on May 25, 2017, and this promotion is considered to enhance his potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy.
  4. ^ Barrett was successfully nominated by Trump to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and confirmed on October 31, 2017. She first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court in November 2017 after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled.
  5. ^ Stras was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Stras to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Stras was confirmed on January 30, 2018, and this appointment is considered to enhance his potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy.
  6. ^ Eid was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the Colorado Supreme Court. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Eid to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Eid was confirmed on November 2, 2017, and this appointment is considered to enhance her potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy.
  7. ^ Grant first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the Georgia Supreme Court in November 2017 after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled. Trump subsequently nominated Grant to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Grant was confirmed on July 31, 2018, and this appointment is considered to enhance her potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy.
  8. ^ Newsom was successfully nominated by Trump to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and confirmed on August 1, 2017. He first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court in November 2017 after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled.
  9. ^ Wyrick was successfully nominated by Trump to the Western District of Oklahoma and confirmed on April 9, 2019. He first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court in November 2017 as an associate justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled.

References

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  1. ^ Flegenheimer, Matt (April 6, 2017). "Senate Republicans Deploy 'Nuclear Option' to Clear Path for Gorsuch". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved October 7, 2018.
  2. ^ Toobin, Jeffrey (April 10, 2017). "The Conservative Pipeline to the Supreme Court". The New Yorker. Archived from the original on April 10, 2019. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  3. ^ "A conservative activist's behind-the-scenes campaign to remake the nation's courts". Washington Post. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved October 31, 2020.
  4. ^ Ruger, Todd (October 19, 2016). "Clinton, Trump Talk Around Senate in Supreme Court Debate". Roll Call. Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. Retrieved October 21, 2016.
  5. ^ Kabot, Joel (January 13, 2017). "Trump could alter Supreme Court for decades to come". TheHill. Archived from the original on June 29, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  6. ^ Liptak, Adam (November 9, 2016). "What the Trump Presidency Means for the Supreme Court". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on June 18, 2017. Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  7. ^ de Vogue, Ariane (June 27, 2018). "Justice Anthony Kennedy to retire from Supreme Court". CNN. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  8. ^ Totenberg, Nina (September 18, 2020). "Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Champion Of Gender Equality, Dies At 87". National Public Radio. Archived from the original on September 18, 2020. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  9. ^ Wise, Lindsay; Bravin, Jess (October 26, 2020). "Amy Coney Barrett Sworn In as Supreme Court Justice". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved October 27, 2020.
  10. ^ McBride, Jessica (January 31, 2017). "Louise Gorsuch, Neil Gorsuch's Wife: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know". Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved February 2, 2017.
  11. ^ Liptak, Alan (February 13, 2016), "Justice Antonin Scalia, Who Led a Conservative Renaissance on the Supreme Court, Is Dead at 79", The New York Times, archived from the original on February 18, 2016, retrieved February 17, 2016
  12. ^ Gresko, Jessica (February 14, 2016). "Scalia's death in office a rarity for modern Supreme Court". Associated Press. Archived from the original on February 16, 2016. Retrieved February 15, 2016.
  13. ^ "President Obama Delivers a Statement on the Passing of Supreme Court Justice Scalia", Rancho Mirage, CA (February 13, 2016).[dead link]
  14. ^ Letter to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Archived September 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine (February 23, 2016).
  15. ^ "Grassley on Supreme Court Nomination: 'We have a constitutional responsibility". Des Moines, Iowa: WHO tv interview. March 1, 2016. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved March 3, 2016.
  16. ^ a b Shear, Michael D. (March 16, 2016). "Obama Chooses Merrick Garland for Supreme Court". New York Times. Archived from the original on March 16, 2016. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  17. ^ Howe, Amy (January 3, 2017). "Garland nomination officially expires". Scotusblog. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  18. ^ Rappeport, Alan (March 16, 2016). "Donald Trump Rejects Garland Nomination". The New York times. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  19. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Alan Rappeport, Charlie Savage (May 18, 2016). "Donald Trump Releases List of Possible Supreme Court Picks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016.
  20. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Reena Flores, Major Garrett (September 23, 2016). "Donald Trump expands list of possible Supreme Court picks". CBS News. Archived from the original on November 30, 2016. Retrieved November 13, 2016.
  21. ^ a b c d Goldmacher, Shane; Johnson, Eliana; Gerstein, Josh (January 31, 2017). "How Trump got to yes on Gorsuch". Politico. Archived from the original on February 1, 2017. Retrieved February 1, 2017.
  22. ^ Johnson, Eliana; Goldmacher, Shane (January 24, 2017). "Trump's down to three in Supreme Court search". Politico. Archived from the original on January 24, 2017. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
  23. ^ Ngo, Emily (January 29, 2017). "Donald Trump poised to make Supreme Court nomination". Newsday. Archived from the original on January 29, 2017. Retrieved January 29, 2017.
  24. ^ Sherman, Mark; Salama, Vivian (January 24, 2017). "President Trump narrows Supreme Court nomination down to three judges". Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on January 31, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  25. ^ Wheeler, Lydia (January 31, 2017). "Trump taps Neil Gorsuch for Supreme Court". The Hill. Archived from the original on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
  26. ^ Liptak, Adam; Flegenheimer, Matt (April 7, 2017). "Neil Gorsuch Confirmed by Senate as Supreme Court Justice". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 29, 2019. Retrieved April 7, 2017.
  27. ^ "Justices 1789 to Present". Washington, D.C.: Supreme Court of the United States. Retrieved March 10, 2022.
  28. ^ "Justice Kennedy, the pivotal swing vote on the Supreme Court, announces retirement". Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 27, 2018 – via www.washingtonpost.com.
  29. ^ "Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy retires". Retrieved June 27, 2018.
  30. ^ "President Donald J. Trump Announces Intent to Nominate Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court of the United States". whitehouse.gov. Archived from the original on January 20, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2018 – via National Archives.
  31. ^ "Brett Kavanaugh picked for Supreme Court by President Trump". BBC News. July 10, 2018. Archived from the original on July 20, 2018. Retrieved July 23, 2018.
  32. ^ "Democrats Disrupt Start Of Kavanaugh Hearing With Protest Over Withheld Documents". CBS-2 Chicago. September 4, 2018. Archived from the original on September 13, 2018. Retrieved September 14, 2018.
  33. ^ "The Resistance At The Kavanaugh Hearings: More Than 200 Arrests". NPR.org. Archived from the original on September 9, 2018. Retrieved September 10, 2018.
  34. ^ Brown, Emma (September 16, 2018), "California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault", The Washington Post, archived from the original on September 16, 2018, retrieved September 17, 2018
  35. ^ Stolberg, Sheryl Gay; Edmondson, Catie (September 24, 2018). "Brett Kavanaugh Vows to Fight 'Smears' and Will Not Withdraw". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  36. ^ Saul, Stephanie (September 25, 2018). "In a Culture of Privilege and Alcohol at Yale, Her World Converged With Kavanaugh's". New York Times. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  37. ^ Eder, Steve (September 26, 2018). "Kavanaugh Is Accused by a Third Woman of Sexual Misconduct". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  38. ^ Schor, Elana (September 26, 2018). "Democrats in the dark on eve of historic Kavanaugh hearing". Politico. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  39. ^ Stewart, Emily (September 26, 2018). "All-male Senate Judiciary Republicans tap Arizona prosecutor Rachel Mitchell for Thursday's Kavanaugh hearing". Vox. Archived from the original on September 26, 2018. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  40. ^ Fandos, Nicholas (September 28, 2018). "With a Key Vote Secured, Senators Will Advance Kavanaugh's Nomination". The New York Times. Archived from the original on September 28, 2018. Retrieved September 28, 2018.
  41. ^ Lucey, Catherine; Kendall, Brent; Peterson, Kristina (September 19, 2020). "Trump Says Supreme Court Nominee Will Most Likely Be a Woman". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on February 15, 2021. Retrieved September 19, 2020.
  42. ^ "Trump Expected To Nominate Amy Coney Barrett To The Supreme Court". NPR.org. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  43. ^ Baker, Peter; Haberman, Maggie (September 25, 2020). "Trump Selects Amy Coney Barrett to Fill Ginsburg's Seat on the Supreme Court". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on September 25, 2020. Retrieved September 25, 2020.
  44. ^ a b c d e f "President Donald J. Trump's Supreme Court List". whitehouse.gov. November 17, 2017. Retrieved November 17, 2017 – via National Archives.
  45. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u "President Trump Releases List of Prospective Supreme Court Nominees, Biden to do Same". September 9, 2020. Archived from the original on September 9, 2020.
  46. ^ a b Goldmacher, Shane (April 6, 2017). "Trump's hidden back channel to Justice Kennedy: Their kids". Politico. Archived from the original on April 8, 2017. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  47. ^ Williams, Joseph P. (May 1, 2017). "Trump: Next Supreme Court Nominee Will Come From Conservative List". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  48. ^ a b c d e de Vogue, Ariane; Biskupic, Joan (May 2, 2017). "Conservatives prepare for Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement". CNN. Archived from the original on May 3, 2017. Retrieved May 3, 2017.
  49. ^ Wilson, Chris (June 27, 2018). "Appellate judge on D.C. Circuit seen as early favorite on Trump's Supreme Court shortlist". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2018.
  50. ^ a b Kendall, Brent; Bravin, Jess (January 27, 2017). "Who's Who: Donald Trump's Potential Supreme Court Picks". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on January 30, 2017. Retrieved January 30, 2017.
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