If today’s reports are to be believed, we could have the name of President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee by this time next week:
President Obama told senators at a White House meeting yesterday that he would review names of potential Supreme Court nominees over the weekend, leading participants to believe an announcement could come within days, according to senior Senate aides who were briefed on the gathering.
The group included Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (D-Nev.), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.) and the committee’s senior Republican, Sen. Jeff Sessions (Ala.).
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters afterward that Obama reiterated to the group that he “would choose a nominee who respects the Constitution and judicial precedent and also has the good judgment and common sense to reach fair decisions.” Obama urged senators to act quickly to ensure that the new justice is confirmed before the court’s term begins in October.
Senate aides said Reid told Obama that the goal was a confirmation vote before the Senate departs on its summer recess. The official adjournment date is Aug. 7. No names were discussed, aides said.
Obama may not have discussed names with the Senators, but he apparently has narrowed his list down to six names:
WASHINGTON (CNN) — The search for a Supreme Court nominee has been trimmed to about half a dozen candidates by top White House officials, and an announcement may come by month’s end, two sources close to the selection process tell CNN.
Among the finalists are federal appeals court judges Sonia Sotomayor and Diane Wood, and Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to speak by the White House.
Women make up all but one of the top candidates currently being given serious scrutiny, the sources said.
Also on the list, a source said, was California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno. The 60-year-old Los Angeles, California, native was not among the early favorites mentioned by legal analysts and the media. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs previously hinted some of the names under consideration were under the political radar.
Whatever the choice is, I’m guessing will know by next Thursday. Announcing on Friday would be a bad move only because it would end up in a holiday weekend news cycle that few people will pay attention to.
