President Donald Trump will make his first appointment to the Supreme Court next Thursday, Feb. 2.
Trump made the announcement on Twitter early Wednesday morning.
The announcement corresponds to the schedule Trump advisers have presented since mid-January.
Speculation abounds as to whom Trump will pick. The leading candidates at the moment appear to be Judge Neil Gorsuch of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge William Pryor of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge Thomas Hardiman of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Some reports indicate that Judge Raymond Kethledge of the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals is also viable alternative.
All were appointed to the bench by former President George W. Bush and have served in the appeals courts for over a decade.
The most credible reports suggest that Gorsuch is the frontrunner for the nomination. Jan Crawford of CBS News, a veteran court-watcher, reports that Gorsuch has emerged as the frontrunner given his sterling credentials. Though his jurisprudence is deeply conservative, he is seen as a less-divisive pick than the early favorite, Judge Pryor, a conservative firebrand and protege of Attorney General-designate Jeff Sessions.
Trump met Tuesday in the White House with key senators to discuss the appointment. The president did not share a specific name during the exchange. (RELATED: Trump, Senate Leadership Gather For SCOTUS Meeting)
The meeting included Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Sen. Chuck Grassley, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the committee’s ranking Democrat.
Depending on the extent to which Senate Democrats cooperate with Republicans in confirming a nominee, there is an outside chance that Trump’s pick could join the high court before its term concludes in June. However, it is most likely that the new justice will not begin hearing cases until the court reconvenes in October.
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