President Bush Expected to Announce Next Supreme Court Nominee Soon

National   |   Steven Ertelt   |   Sep 28, 2005   |   9:00AM   |   WASHINGTON, DC

President Bush Expected to Announce Next Supreme Court Nominee Soon Email this article
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by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
September 28, 2005

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — President Bush could announce his next choice for the U.S. Supreme Court as early as Thursday afternoon, following Senate approval of John Roberts. Roberts would replace pro-life Chief Justice William Rehnquist and a next selection would take the seat of outgoing pro-abortion Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.

White House press secretary Scott McClellan said the president has narrowed the list of potential nominees to a handful and has met with most of the members of the Senate, including nearly every member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"We have been listening to the views and ideas of members of the Senate, and the president will take those into account as he makes a decision about who should fill that vacancy," McClellan said.

Bush advisors have consulted with 70 senators and 18 of the 19 members of the judicial panel, but no one has divulged the list of people the president is considering.

However, the names of people mentioned include many appeals court judges and most of them are pro-life, including J. Michael Luttig, Edith Jones, J. Harvie Wilkinson, Priscilla Owen, Samuel Alito, and Michael McConnell.

Bush hinted Monday he might choose a woman or a minority and some say Bush may even look outside the appeals courts for his next pick.

"It could be someone outside of the legal judicial field like a Larry Thompson, or it could be a senator," Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for Law and Justice, a pro-life law firm, told the Associated Press.

Sekulow said he’s heard White House legal counsel Harriet Miers’ name mentioned frequently.

If Bush’s next nominee has a pro-life track record, abortion advocates in the Senate are certain to fight against a confirmation as easy as Roberts’.

"If the president sends us a nominee who is committed to an agenda of turning back the clock on … vital constitutional protections, there will likely be a fight," Judiciary Committee member Sen. Charles Schumer, a New York Democrat, said.