It’s been reported all morning that Trump interviewed four people yesterday from his list of potential nominees for the Supreme Court.
But it turns out that Trump actually interviewed five people yesterday and Mike Lee was the fifth!
NEW: Sen. Mike Lee, Republican from Utah, spoke yesterday with Pres. Trump about Supreme Court nomination, Lee spokesperson confirms to @ABC. https://t.co/bd9BKbfzqL pic.twitter.com/UBadMCgciq
— ABC News (@ABC) July 3, 2018
can confirm https://t.co/UW5supR4qb
— Conn Carroll (@conncarroll) July 3, 2018
Con Carroll is the comms director for Mike Lee, so if he’s confirming it, it happened.
Here’s more:
DESERET NEWS – President Donald Trump interviewed Utah Sen. Mike Lee on Monday about the coming vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, the Deseret News has learned.
Lee, who is in Utah for the Fourth of July holiday, confirmed the telephone interview but would not elaborate on the conversation.
The Daily Caller News Foundation reported Monday that Trump has narrowed the list of candidates to federal appeals judges Brett M. Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett. It now appears Lee also is in the running, though unlike the other apparent contenders he has no judicial experience.
Trump has interviewed Kavanaugh and Barrett as well as federal appeals judges Raymond Kethledge and Amul Thapar, according to the Washington Post.
If Trump were to pick Lee, it would be a great pick. But it would also leave the Senate with an effective 49 Republican votes (with John McCain out). Now of course that could all change with the upcoming election, but it could also change for the worse.
Regardless of who Trump picks for the nomination, I suspect they will need John McCain to vote in September. Will he be healthy enough by then to come and vote? With Susan Collins as a potential ‘no’ vote, I sure hope he will be.