President Donald Trump released a new list of prospective Supreme Court nominees that he will consider selecting from if he is re-elected to a second term and called on Democrat presidential nominee Joe Biden to do the same.
“President Trump has a stellar record of appointing more than 200 solid, conservative federal judges, including two strong Supreme Court justices, and will likely get to 300 judges by the end of his first term,” said Bill Stepien, Trump 2020 campaign manager. “Voters deserve transparency and a clear view of what direction candidates for president would take our federal courts. We now forcefully demand that Joe Biden do the same.”
Trump announced that the following 20 additional names had been added to his list of potential nominees:
- Bridget Bade, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
- Daniel Cameron, 51st Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Kentucky
- Tom Cotton, U.S. Senator from Arkansas
- Paul Clement, partner with Kirkland & Ellis LLP
- Ted Cruz, U.S. Senator from Texas
- Stuart Kyle Duncan, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Steven Engel, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice
- Noel Francisco, former Solicitor General of the United States
- Josh Hawley, U.S. Senator from Missouri
- James Ho, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
- Gregory Katsas, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit
- Barbara Lagoa, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit
- Christopher Landau, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the United Mexican States
- Carlos Muñiz, Justice on the Supreme Court of Florida
- Martha Pacold, Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois
- Peter Phipps, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
- Sarah Pitlyk, Judge on the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri
- Allison Jones Rushing, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
- Kate Todd, Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President
- Lawrence VanDyke, Judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
The campaign laid out a series of questions about potential Supreme Court picks that Biden could select and how they might shape the country:
- Protect life, or side with the abortion lobby?
- Protect religious liberty, or force nuns to pay for birth control?
- Protect the 2nd Amendment, or forcibly remove the rights of law-abiding people to defend themselves and their families?
- Protect law-abiding citizens and stand with police, or coddle criminals?
- Protect our borders, our communities, and America workers, or create new rights for illegal aliens?
- Protect taxpayers, or force people to buy products they do not want, like health insurance?
- Protect American entrepreneurs and individuals, or side with government regulators who spit out miles of red tape that strangles freedom, growth, and innovation?
Jay Sekulow, counselor to Trump, said that it was critical that pro-Constitution judges be selected to the nation’s highest court rather than judicial activists who seek to legislate from the bench.
“We must have justices who apply the Constitution and not make their own policies on so many important issues. That’s why it’s key that President Trump has released this list, because voters deserve the clarity and transparency of exactly where the priorities will be,” Sekulow said. “It is imperative that Joe Biden follow the President’s lead and release his own list and tell Americans where he stands, and what kind of justices he will pick.”
This story has been updated to include additional information.