With the

advice and consent Advice and consent is an English phrase frequently used in List of enacting formulae, enacting formulae of bill (proposed law), bills and in other legal or constitutional contexts. It describes either of two situations: where a weak executive ...

of the

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

, the

president of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the Federal government of the United States#Executive branch, executive branch of the Federal government of t ...

appoints the members of the

Supreme Court of the United States The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all Federal tribunals in the United States, U.S. federal court cases, and over Stat ...

, which is the highest court of the

federal judiciary of the United States The federal judiciary of the United States is one of the three branches of the federal government of the United States organized under the United States Constitution and laws of the federal government. The U.S. federal judiciary consists primaril ...

. Following his victory in the 2016 presidential election, Republican

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

took office as president on January 20, 2017, and faced an immediate vacancy on the Supreme Court due to the February 2016 death of Associate Justice

Antonin Scalia Antonin Gregory Scalia (March 11, 1936 – February 13, 2016) was an American jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1986 until his death in 2016. He was described as the intellectual an ...

. During the 2016 campaign, Trump had released two lists of potential nominees to the Supreme Court. After taking office, he nominated

Neil Gorsuch Neil McGill Gorsuch ( ; born August 29, 1967) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court ...

to succeed Scalia, and Gorsuch was confirmed in April 2017. In November 2017, five more names were added to the previous lists of potential nominees. In June 2018, Associate Justice

Anthony Kennedy Anthony McLeod Kennedy (born July 23, 1936) is an American attorney and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1988 until his retirement in 2018. He was nominated to the court in 1987 by Pres ...

announced his retirement, creating a second vacancy on the Supreme Court. In early July 2018, Trump nominated

Brett Kavanaugh Brett Michael Kavanaugh (; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since Oct ...

as his replacement; Kavanaugh was confirmed on October 6, 2018. Following the death of Associate Justice

Ruth Bader Ginsburg Joan Ruth Bader Ginsburg ( ; Bader; March 15, 1933 – September 18, 2020) was an American lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1993 until Death and state funeral of Ruth Bader ...

on September 18, 2020, Trump nominated

Amy Coney Barrett Amy Vivian Coney Barrett (born January 28, 1972) is an American lawyer and jurist serving since 2020 as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. The fifth wom ...

as her replacement on September 26, 2020. Exactly a month later on October 26, 2020, Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52–48. The Gorsuch, Kavanaugh and Barrett confirmations were enabled by a rule change made by Senate Republicans in 2017, which applied the '

nuclear option In the United States Senate, the nuclear option is a Parliamentary procedure, legislative procedure that allows the Senate to override a standing rule by a simple majority, avoiding the two-thirds supermajority normally required to invoke clot ...

' to Supreme Court nominees and allowed nominations to be advanced by a simple majority vote rather than the historical norm of a three-fifths

supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...

vote. Leonard Leo played a crucial role in selecting Trump's appointees and helping them successfully navigate their Senate confirmation hearings. Following Trump's reelection to a second, non-consecutive term in the 2024 presidential election, and entering office with a solid Republican majority in the Senate, observers noted that he would likely have the opportunity to appoint several more justices. Speculation on potential outgoing justices who might be replaced centered on

Samuel Alito Samuel Anthony Alito Jr. ( ; born April 1, 1950) is an American jurist who serves as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was Samuel Alito Supreme Court ...

and

Clarence Thomas Clarence Thomas (born June 23, 1948) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served since 1991 as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. President George H. W. Bush nominated him to succeed Thurgood Marshall. Afte ...

. Should both Thomas and Alito retire and their successors be appointed by Trump, he would become the first president since

Dwight D. Eisenhower Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was the 34th president of the United States, serving from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, he was Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionar ...

to personally appoint a majority of the Supreme Court.

Court composition under Trump's first term

President

began his term in January 2017 with a vacancy to be filled as a result of the February 2016 death of Justice

. As three of the Court's justices at the time—

(born 1933),

(born 1936) and

Stephen Breyer Stephen Gerald Breyer ( ; born August 15, 1938) is an American lawyer and retired jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1994 until his retirement in 2022. He was nominated by President Bill Clinton, and r ...

(born 1938)—were aged 78 or older, speculation arose that additional vacancies could occur during Trump's four-year presidential term. Because Ginsburg and Breyer were part of the liberal wing of the Court and Kennedy was a swing vote who often aligned with them on social issues, many top political analysts saw Trump's term as a chance for Republicans to reshape the court significantly towards a more conservative vision of the law. On June 27, 2018, this became a real possibility when Justice Kennedy officially announced his retirement. Following the death of Ginsburg on September 18, 2020, and the subsequent confirmation of

on October 26, 2020, the Supreme Court had the following nine justices:

Nomination of Neil Gorsuch

On February 13, 2016, Associate Justice

died while vacationing at Cibolo Creek Ranch near

Marfa, Texas Marfa is a city in the high desert of the Trans-Pecos in far West Texas, United States, between the Davis Mountains and Big Bend National Park, at an elevation of 4685 feet. It is the county seat of Presidio County, Texas, Presidio County. The ci ...

. Scalia's death marked just the second time in 60 years that a sitting Supreme Court justice died. This resulted in there being a Supreme Court vacancy during the last year of Barack Obama's presidency.

Mitch McConnell Addison Mitchell McConnell III (; born February 20, 1942) is an American politician and attorney serving as the senior United States senator from Kentucky, a seat he has held since 1985. McConnell is in his seventh Senate term and is the long ...

, the Republican Senate majority leader, stated that the new president, whoever won the 2016 election, should replace Scalia, while President Obama stated that he planned to nominate someone to replace Scalia on the Supreme Court.President Obama Delivers a Statement on the Passing of Supreme Court Justice Scalia
, Rancho Mirage, CA (February 13, 2016). On February 23, the 11 Republican members of the

Senate Judiciary Committee The United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary, informally known as the Senate Judiciary Committee, is a Standing committee (United States Congress), standing committee of 22 U.S. senators whose role is to oversee the United States Departm ...

signed a letter to McConnell stating their intention to withhold

consent Consent occurs when one person voluntarily agrees to the proposal or desires of another. It is a term of common speech, with specific definitions used in such fields as the law, medicine, research, and sexual consent. Consent as understood i ...

on any nominee made by Obama, and that no hearings would occur until after January 20, 2017, when the new president took office. On March 16, 2016, Obama nominated then-chief judge

Merrick Garland Merrick Brian Garland (born November 13, 1952) is an American lawyer and jurist who served as the 86th United States attorney general from 2021 to 2025. He previously served as a circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Dist ...

(of the

United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit (in case citations, D.C. Cir.) is one of the thirteen United States Courts of Appeals. It has the smallest geographical jurisdiction of any of the U.S. courts of appeals, ...

), to replace Scalia. After Garland's nomination, McConnell reiterated his position that the

Senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

would not consider any Supreme Court nomination until a new president took office. Garland's nomination expired on January 3, 2017, with the Senate having taken no action on it. Trump rejected any move by Obama to fill the vacancy, maintaining that picking a successor to Scalia should be done by the next president. During his 2016 presidential campaign, Trump released two lists of potential Supreme Court nominees. On May 18, 2016, he released a short list of 11 judges for nomination to the Scalia vacancy. Then, on September 23, 2016, he released a second list of 10 possible nominees, this time including three minorities. Both lists were assembled by lawyers associated with the

Federalist Society The Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy Studies (FedSoc) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative and Libertarianism in the United States, libertarian legal organization that advocates for a Textualism, textualist an ...

and

the Heritage Foundation The Heritage Foundation (or simply Heritage) is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative think tank based in Washington, D.C. Founded in 1973, it took a leading role in the conservative movement in the 1980s during the Presi ...

. Days after Trump's inauguration, ''Politico'' named three individuals as the front-runners for Scalia's position:

, Thomas Hardiman and Bill Pryor, with Trump reportedly later narrowing his list down to Gorsuch and Hardiman. At the time of the nomination, Gorsuch, Hardiman, and Pryor were all federal appellate judges who had been appointed by President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

. President Trump and White House counsel Don McGahn interviewed those three individuals as well as Judge Amul Thapar of the U.S. District Court for Eastern District of Kentucky in the weeks before the nomination. Trump announced Gorsuch as his nominee on January 31. The Senate confirmed Gorsuch by a 54–45 vote on April 7, 2017, with votes from 51 Republicans and 3 Democrats. He was sworn into office as an associate justice of the Supreme Court on April 10.

Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

On June 27, 2018, Justice

announced his retirement from the Supreme Court, effective July 31, giving Trump an opportunity to send a second Supreme Court nominee to the Senate for confirmation. Kavanaugh was officially nominated on July 9, selected from among a list of "25 highly qualified potential nominees" considered by the Trump Administration. Kavanaugh's nomination was officially sent to the Senate on July 10, 2018, and confirmation hearings began on September 4. The hearings took longer than initially expected over objections to the withholding of documents pertinent to Kavanaugh's time in the Bush administration as a lawyer, and due to the presence of protestors. On September 16, 2018, Christine Blasey Ford alleged a then-17 year old Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in 1982, in what she described as an attempted rape. The accusation delayed the scheduled September 20 vote. After Ford's accusation, Kavanaugh indicated he would not withdraw. Ford's allegations were followed by an accusation of sexual assault by Yale classmate Deborah Ramirez, and a letter from Julie Swetnick accusing Kavanaugh of gang rape in high school. Ford and Kavanaugh appeared before the

for a hearing on September 27, and were questioned by Arizona sex crimes prosecutor Rachel Mitchell and members of the Senate. The Judiciary Committee voted to approve Kavanaugh on September 28 after

Jeff Flake Jeffry Lane Flake (born December 31, 1962) is an American politician and diplomat who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 2013 to 2019. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served in the United States House of Repr ...

, considered to be a swing vote, declared his intent to vote in favor of the nomination with the provision that there would be a new FBI investigation into the allegations by Ford. The investigation concluded on October 4. Two days later, Kavanaugh was confirmed by a 50–48 vote, and sworn in that same day.

Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett

Justice

died on September 18, 2020. The following day, Trump stated that any successor of Ginsburg would "most likely" be a woman. On September 25, 2020, it was announced that Trump intended to nominate

to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg as Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. On October 26, 2020, Barrett was confirmed by a vote of 52–48. She was sworn in the next day.

Possible nominees under the first Trump administration

Below is a list of individuals which President Trump identified as his potential nominees for Supreme Court appointments. Most of them were revealed in two lists released by the Trump campaign in 2016. Others were added in a revised list released by the White House on November 17, 2017 and a fourth list released on September 9, 2020. Following the nomination of Amul Thapar to the Sixth Circuit, it was reported that Trump might try to season some of the candidates on his list with federal appellate court experience prior to potential nomination to the Supreme Court. Indeed, Trump later elevated a number of state court judges from his list to fill vacant positions on the federal Courts of Appeals: Joan Larsen (Sixth Circuit), David Stras (Eighth Circuit), Allison H. Eid (Tenth Circuit), Don Willett (Fifth Circuit), and Britt Grant (Eleventh Circuit). Conversely, two previous Trump appointees to the Courts of Appeals—

(Seventh Circuit) and

Kevin Newsom Kevin Christopher Newsom (born September 22, 1972) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Early life and education Kevin Newsom was born in ...

(Eleventh Circuit)—were later added to the list of potential Supreme Court candidates. Despite speculation that Trump might consider other candidates for a possible second Supreme Court nomination, he said in May 2017 that he would make his next appointment from the same list he used to choose Gorsuch (the combined 21 names given on either of the two lists he released during the campaign), describing the list as "a big thing" for him and his supporters. Trump added five further candidates to the list on November 17, 2017. US Court of Appeals and District Court map

US Court of Appeals and District Court map

United States courts of appeals

* Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ** Gregory G. Katsas‡ (born 1964) (appointed by Trump) **

† (born 1965) (nominated and confirmed) * Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit ** Thomas Hardiman* (born 1965) ** Peter J. Phipps‡ (born 1973) (appointed by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit ** Allison Jones Rushing‡ (born 1982) (appointed by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit ** Kyle Duncan‡ (born 1972) (appointed by Trump) **

James C. Ho James Chiun-Yue Ho ( Chinese: 何俊宇; pinyin: ''Hé Jùnyǔ''; born February 27, 1973) is a Taiwanese American lawyer and jurist serving as a United States circuit judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. He was appointed i ...

‡ (born 1973) (appointed by Trump) ** Don Willett* (born 1966) (appointed by Trump)Willett was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the

Texas Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Texas (SCOTX) is the court of last resort for civil matters (including juvenile delinquency cases, which are categorized as civil under the Texas Family Code) in the U.S. state of Texas. A different court, the Texas Court o ...

. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Willett to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. Willett was confirmed on December 13, 2017, and this appointment is considered to enhance his potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy. * Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ** Raymond Kethledge* (born 1966) ** Joan Larsen* (born 1968) (appointed by Trump)Larsen was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the

Michigan Supreme Court The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is Michigan's court of last resort and consists of seven justices. The Court is located in the Michigan Hall of Justice at 925 Ottawa Street in Lansing, the s ...

. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Larsen to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Larsen was confirmed on November 1, 2017, and this appointment is considered to enhance her potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy. ** Amul Thapar** (born 1969) (elevated by Trump) - see below regarding possible second term nomineesThapar was originally placed on Trump's (second) short list for the Supreme Court as a judge of the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Thapar to the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals. Thapar was confirmed on May 25, 2017, and this promotion is considered to enhance his potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy. * Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit **

† (born 1972) (appointed by Trump)Barrett was successfully nominated by Trump to the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals and confirmed on October 31, 2017. She first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court in November 2017 after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled. (nominated and confirmed) ** Diane Sykes* (born 1957) * Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit **

Steven Colloton Steven Michael Colloton (born January 9, 1963) is the chief United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. He has served as judge of the court since 2003 and became chief judge in March 2024. Early li ...

* (born 1963) ** Raymond Gruender* (born 1963) ** David Stras* (born 1974) (appointed by Trump)Stras was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the

Minnesota Supreme Court The Minnesota Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The court hears cases in the Supreme Court chamber in the Minnesota State Capitol or in the nearby Minnesota Judicial Center. History The court was first assemb ...

. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Stras to the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals. Stras was confirmed on January 30, 2018, and this appointment is considered to enhance his potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy. * Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ** Bridget S. Bade‡ (born 1965) (appointed by Trump) ** Lawrence VanDyke‡ (born 1972) (appointed by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit ** Allison Eid* (born 1965) (appointed by Trump)Eid was originally placed on Trump's (first) short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the

Colorado Supreme Court The Colorado Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Colorado. Located in Denver, the court was established in 1876. It consists of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices who are appointed by the Governor of Colorado from a ...

. After the nomination of Gorsuch to the Scalia vacancy, however, Trump nominated Eid to the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals. Eid was confirmed on November 2, 2017, and this appointment is considered to enhance her potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy. **

** (born 1967) (nominated and confirmed) ** Timothy Tymkovich** (born 1956) * Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit ** Britt Grant† (born 1978) (appointed by Trump)Grant first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court as an associate justice of the Georgia Supreme Court in November 2017 after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled. Trump subsequently nominated Grant to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals. Grant was confirmed on July 31, 2018, and this appointment is considered to enhance her potential for nomination to a future Supreme Court vacancy. **

Barbara Lagoa Barbara Lagoa (born November 2, 1967) is an American attorney and jurist serving as a United States federal judge, United States circuit judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. Prior to becoming a federal judge, she ...

‡ (born 1967) (appointed by Trump) **

† (born 1972) (appointed by Trump)Newsom was successfully nominated by Trump to the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals and confirmed on August 1, 2017. He first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court in November 2017 after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled. ** Bill Pryor* (born 1962) *

Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces A court is an institution, often a government entity, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and administer justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance with the rule of law. Courts gene ...

** Margaret A. Ryan** (born 1964)

United States district courts

* Federico A. Moreno** (born 1952) – senior judge,

United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida The United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida (in case citations, S.D. Fla. or S.D. Fl.) is the federal United States district court with territorial jurisdiction over the southern part of the state of Florida. Appeals ...

* Martha M. Pacold‡ (born 1979) – district judge,

United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois The United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois (in case citations, N.D. Ill.) is the federal trial court with jurisdiction over the northern counties of Illinois. It is one of the busiest federal trial courts in the Uni ...

(appointed by Trump) * Sarah Pitlyk‡ (born 1977) – district judge, United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri (appointed by Trump) * Patrick Wyrick† (born 1981) – district judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma (appointed by Trump)Wyrick was successfully nominated by Trump to the Western District of Oklahoma and confirmed on April 9, 2019. He first appeared on Trump's revised short list for the Supreme Court in November 2017 as an associate justice of the

Oklahoma Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Oklahoma is a court of appeal for non-criminal cases, one of the two highest judicial bodies in the U.S. state of Oklahoma, and leads the judiciary of Oklahoma, the judicial branch of the government of Oklahoma.

after the Scalia vacancy had already been filled.

State supreme courts

* Keith R. Blackwell** (born 1975) – associate justice, Supreme Court of Georgia *

Charles Canady Charles Terrance Canady (born June 22, 1954) is an American attorney and judge serving on the Supreme Court of Florida since 2008. He previously served as Chief Justice from 2010 to 2012 and from 2018 to 2022. Prior to his appointment to the Sup ...

** (born 1954) – chief justice,

Supreme Court of Florida The Supreme Court of Florida is the state supreme court, highest court in the U.S. state of Florida. It consists of seven justices—one of whom serves as Chief Justice. Six members are chosen from six districts around the state to foster geog ...

Thomas Rex Lee Thomas Rex Lee (born December 28, 1964) is a former American jurist who was a justice of the Utah Supreme Court from 2010 to 2022. Lee is also a lecturer on law at Harvard Law School and an adjunct professor/distinguished lecturer at Brigham Youn ...

* (born 1964) – associate justice,

Utah Supreme Court The Utah Supreme Court is the supreme court of the state of Utah, United States. It has final authority of interpretation of the Utah Constitution. The Utah Supreme Court is composed of five members: a chief justice, an associate chief justice ...

* Edward Mansfield** (born 1957) – associate justice,

Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a chief justice and six associate justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...

* Carlos G. Muñiz‡ (born 1969) – associate justice,

* Robert P. Young Jr.** (born 1951) – former chief justice,

Executive branch

Paul Clement Paul Drew Clement (born June 24, 1966) is an American attorney who served as United States Solicitor General, U.S. Solicitor General from 2005 to 2008 and is known for his advocacy before the Supreme Court of the United States, U.S. Supreme Cou ...

‡ (born 1966) – former

solicitor general of the United States The solicitor general of the United States (USSG or SG), is the fourth-highest-ranking official within the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), and represents the federal government in cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. ...

* Steven Engel‡ (born 1974) –

United States assistant attorney general Many of the divisions and offices of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are headed by an assistant attorney general. The president of the United States appoints individuals to the position of assistant attorney general with the adv ...

for the

Office of Legal Counsel The Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) is an office in the United States Department of Justice that supports the attorney general in their role as legal adviser to the president and all executive branch agencies. It drafts legal opinions of the atto ...

* Noel Francisco‡ (born 1969) – former

* Christopher Landau‡ (born 1963) –

United States ambassador to Mexico The United States has maintained diplomatic relations with Mexico since 1823, when Andrew Jackson was appointed Envoy Extraordinary and Minister Plenipotentiary to that country. Jackson declined the appointment, however, and Joel R. Poinsett bec ...

* Kate Comerford Todd‡ (born 1975) – Deputy Assistant to the President and Deputy Counsel to the President

United States senators

Tom Cotton Thomas Bryant Cotton (born May 13, 1977) is an American politician and United States Army, Army veteran serving since 2015 as the Seniority in the United States Senate, junior United States Senate, United States senator from Arkansas. A memb ...

‡ (born 1977) – Senator from

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the West South Central region of the Southern United States. It borders Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, Texas to the southwest, and Oklahoma ...

Ted Cruz Rafael Edward Cruz (; born December 22, 1970) is an American politician and attorney serving as the junior United States senator from Texas since 2013. A member of the Republican Party, Cruz was the solicitor general of Texas from 2003 ...

‡ (born 1970) – Senator from

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Josh Hawley Joshua David Hawley (born December 31, 1979) is an American politician and attorney serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Missouri, a seat he has held since 2019. A member ...

‡ (born 1979) – Senator from

Missouri Missouri (''see #Etymology and pronunciation, pronunciation'') is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it border ...

Mike Lee Michael Shumway Lee (born June 4, 1971) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the senior United States senator from Utah, a seat he has held since 2011. A member of the Republican Party, Lee became Utah's senior senator in 2019, whe ...

** (born 1971) – Senator from

Utah Utah is a landlocked state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is one of the Four Corners states, sharing a border with Arizona, Colorado, and New Mexico. It also borders Wyoming to the northea ...

State executive branches

* Daniel Cameron‡ (born 1985) – former

Attorney General of Kentucky The attorney general of Kentucky is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of Kentucky, created by the Kentucky Constitution (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), ...

Court composition under Trump's second term

In the intervening years between Trump's two presidencies, Justice

retired, and was succeeded by Biden nominee

Ketanji Brown Jackson Ketanji Onyika Brown Jackson (née Brown; ; born September 14, 1970) is an American lawyer and jurist who is an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. Jackson Ketanji Brown Jackson Supreme Court nomination, was nominated ...

. Upon the reelection of Trump, speculation of additional vacancies emerged, as three of the Court's justices—

, and

Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...

—were all in their seventies. In contrast to his first presidency, which predicted an ideological shift of the court, many analysts viewed a potential vacancy more as a way to cement the court's conservative leanings rather than to shift it further to the right.

Possible nominees under the second Trump administration

Unlike the 2016 campaign, Trump did not release a list of potential Supreme Court nominees during the 2024 campaign. Names that have been suggested as likely nominees for Supreme Court seat in Trump's second term include a number of court of appeals judges, many of whom were appointed to their seats by Trump in his first term:

United States courts of appeals

* Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ** Neomi Rao (born 1973, appointed by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit ** Michael H. Park (born 1976, appointed by Trump) ** Steven Menashi (born 1979, appointed by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit **

(born 1973, appointed by Trump) ** Kyle Duncan (born 1972, appointed by Trump) ** Andrew Oldham (born 1978, appointed by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ** Amul Thapar (born 1969, elevated by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit ** Kenneth K. Lee (born 1975, appointed by Trump) ** Patrick J. Bumatay (born 1978, appointed by Trump) ** Lawrence VanDyke (born 1972, appointed by Trump) * Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit **

(born 1967, appointed by Trump)

United States district courts

* Aileen Cannon (born 1981) – Judge,

( appointed by Trump) * Kathryn Kimball Mizelle (born 1987) – Judge,

United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida The United States District Court for the Middle District of Florida (in case citations, M.D. Fla.) is a federal court in the United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, Eleventh Circuit (except for patent claims and claims against ...

( appointed by Trump)

State supreme courts

* Mark D. Martin (born 1963) - Former chief justice,

North Carolina Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the State of North Carolina is the state of North Carolina's highest appellate court. Until the creation of the North Carolina Court of Appeals in the 1960s, it was the state's only appellate court. The Supreme Court consists ...

Executive branch

* Noel Francisco (born 1969) - 47th

solicitor general A solicitor general is a government official who serves as the chief representative of the government in courtroom proceedings. In systems based on the English common law that have an attorney general or equivalent position, the solicitor general ...

United States senators

(born 1971) – Senator from

State executive branches

* Jonathan F. Mitchell (born 1976) - 5th Texas solicitor general

Other backgrounds

* Morse Tan (born 1974) - Dean, Liberty University School of Law * Kristen Waggoner (born 1972) - President, CEO, and General Counsel of

Alliance Defending Freedom The Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), formerly the Alliance Defense Fund, is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to expand Christian religious practices within public schools and in government. ADF is most known ...

Notes

References

External links

"Resources: Potential U.S. Supreme Court Nominees of President-Elect Donald Trump"
The Institute for Intermediate Study (tifis.org)
"Donald J. Trump Releases List of Potential United States Supreme Court Justices"
donaldjtrump.com (May 18, 2016).
"Donald J. Trump Finalizes List of Potential Supreme Court Justice Picks"
donaldjtrump.com (September 23, 2016). {{DEFAULTSORT:Trump Supreme Court candidates Supreme Court candidates * United States Supreme Court candidates by president Conservatism-related lists

Court composition under Trump's first term

Nomination of Neil Gorsuch

Nomination of Brett Kavanaugh

Nomination of Amy Coney Barrett

Possible nominees under the first Trump administration

United States courts of appeals

United States district courts

State supreme courts

Executive branch

United States senators

State executive branches

Court composition under Trump's second term

Possible nominees under the second Trump administration

United States courts of appeals

United States district courts

State supreme courts

Executive branch

United States senators

State executive branches

Other backgrounds

See also

Notes

References

External links