REUTERS/Lucas Jackson
Trump on Wednesday whittled down a list of potential judges to replace former Justice Antonin Scalia, who died suddenly earlier this year.
Trump's list includes:
- Steven Colloton, federal judge, US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Iowa)
- Allison Eid, associate justice, Colorado Supreme Court
- Raymond Gruender, federal judge, US Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit (Missouri)
- Thomas Hardiman, federal judge, US Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit (Pennsylvania)
- Raymond Kethledge, federal judge, US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (Michigan)
- Joan Larsen, associate justice, Michigan Supreme Court
- Thomas Lee, associate chief justice, Utah Supreme Court
- William Pryor, federal judge, US Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit (Alabama)
- David Stras, associate justice, Minnesota Supreme Court
- Diane Sykes, federal judge, US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit (Wisconsin)
- Don Willett, associate justice, Texas Supreme Court
"Justice Scalia was a remarkable person and a brilliant Supreme Court Justice. His career was defined by his reverence for the Constitution and his legacy of protecting Americans' most cherished freedoms. He was a Justice who did not believe in legislating from the bench and he is a person whom I held in the highest regard and will always greatly respect his intelligence and conviction to uphold the Constitution of our country," Trump said in a statement.
He added: "The following list of potential Supreme Court justices is representative of the kind of constitutional principles I value and, as President, I plan to use this list as a guide to nominate our next United States Supreme Court Justices."
President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland to replace Scalia earlier this year, but Senate Republicans have refused to hold confirmation hearings, citing the desire to wait until after the election to appoint a new justice.