Now that swing voter Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced his retirement, the question now lingers as to who will replace him.
Within moments of Justice Kennedy’s epic bombshell, the Trump administration stated they will be seeking his replacement immediately and will be picking from a list of potential nominees. Who are the top contenders? The names provided by the White House last year provides a good indication. From Mediaite:
Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Keith Blackwell of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia
Charles Canady of Florida, Supreme Court of Florida
Steven Colloton of Iowa, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Allison Eid of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Britt Grant of Georgia, Supreme Court of Georgia
Raymond Gruender of Missouri, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
Brett Kavanaugh of Maryland, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
Raymond Kethledge of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Joan Larsen of Michigan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Mike Lee of Utah, United States Senator
Thomas Lee of Utah, Supreme Court of Utah
Edward Mansfield of Iowa, Supreme Court of Iowa
Federico Moreno of Florida, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
Kevin Newsom of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
William Pryor of Alabama, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
Margaret Ryan of Virginia, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces
David Stras of Minnesota, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit
Diane Sykes of Wisconsin, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit
Amul Thapar of Kentucky, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Timothy Tymkovich of Colorado, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
Robert Young of Michigan, Supreme Court of Michigan (Ret.)
Don Willett of Texas, Supreme Court of Texas
Patrick Wyrick of Oklahoma, Supreme Court of Oklahoma
The first name on the list, Amy Coney Barrett, became a household name among conservatives in 2017 when her devout Catholic beliefs were held to severe scrutiny by Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), who infamously said, “the dogma lives loudly within you” during a confirmation hearing.
With the vacancy of Justice Kennedy, the question on every leftist’s mind will be the fate of Roe v. Wade, which Kennedy upheld in the 1992 case Planned Parenthood v. Casey. Should President Trump nominate a hardcore conservative (which is expected), abortion “rights” could face its first real threat in nearly 50 years.