Trump Names Potential SCOTUS Pick He Says Both Parties Would Approve

President Donald Trump revealed at a Texas rally on Tuesday that he would nominate Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) if another Supreme Court Justice retired during his presidency.

Trump, who has previously mentioned the Texas senator as a potential nominee to the high court, praised Cruz’s legal credentials before explaining why he thought confirmation would be easy.

“I would pick Ted Cruz to be the next Supreme Court justice, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it. I wouldn’t even have to make a phone call,” Trump said.

“The Democrats will 100% vote for it because they hate the guy and they want to get rid of him,” Trump added, as Cruz laughed along from the front row of the Lubbock, Texas, venue. “And the Republicans would 100% vote for it because they can’t stand him, they would like to get rid of him. So I’d get 100% of the vote, and he would be a Supreme Court justice and he’d do a great job.”

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Trump rallied in Texas on Tuesday to support Attorney General Ken Paxton (R-TX), who is running against far-left Democrat James Talarico for the U.S. Senate seat Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) will vacate in January.

Cruz, who clerked for the late Chief Justice William Rehnquist and has authored dozens of Supreme Court briefs himself, also previously argued before the Court as Solicitor General of Texas. While working for Rehnquist, he developed a friendship with Justice Clarence Thomas. Still, he has said as recently as September that he is not interested in being a judge.

Whether or not Trump will have the opportunity to nominate another justice remains to be seen, as none of the current justices have indicated plans to retire. NPR’s Nina Totenberg incorrectly reported in June that Justice Samuel Alito, 76, was retiring—but quickly retracted the story, saying she had “misheard” something about a retirement announcement.

Trump nominated three Supreme Court justices — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett — during his first term in the White House, shifting the court decidedly rightward.