If a Supreme Court retirement occurs this year, Republicans will be ready to push a Trump pick through the Senate, according to Sen. Charles E. Grassley, the man who would oversee the confirmation process.
Mr. Grassley, the Senate’s senior lawmaker and chairman of the Judiciary Committee, has two suggestions for whom President Trump should pick if Justice Clarence Thomas or Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. leaves the bench.
“If he does retire, I’m going to suggest that either [Sen. Mike] Lee or [Sen. Ted] Cruz be put on the Supreme Court,” the Iowa Republican told reporters.
Court watchers think there’s a greater-than-usual chance of a retirement this year from among the six Republican appointees, given the questions about whether the GOP will still control the Senate — and thus be able to push through a Trump nominee — after November’s elections.
Justices Thomas, 77, and Alito, 76, are most frequently mentioned as possible retirees.
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Mr. Trump praised both justices this week, but the 79-year-old president also wondered if it might be politically advantageous for the older members to go.
“There’s a theory, you reach a certain age and you give up your seat when you have the president,” he told Fox Business’ Maria Bartiromo.
He specifically cited the case of the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who drew ire from Democrats for not retiring while President Obama was in office. She died in the final months of Mr. Trump’s first term, giving him a third pick for the high court and cementing the current 6-3 GOP nominee advantage.
The president said if a vacancy does occur, he’s ready to name a replacement.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, South Dakota Republican, said Republicans would move quickly to fill any vacancy should one arise.
“That’s a contingency I think around here you always have to be prepared for. And if that were to happen, yes, we would be prepared to confirm,” Mr. Thune said Tuesday.
While Mr. Cruz, a former solicitor general from Texas, has long been mentioned as a possibility, he dismissed the idea this week.
“I have been blessed to be involved in the nomination, confirmation of many of them, and I intend to be deeply involved, but I don’t intend to be one of them,” Mr. Cruz told reporters.
