President Donald Trump has made up his mind, and in a special announcement from the White House, he will let everyone know who he has nominated to replace the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.
He announced his decision via Twitter Monday morning:
“I have made my decision on who I will nominate for The United States Supreme Court. It will be announced live on Tuesday at 8:00 P.M. (W.H.)”
Last week, the president’s list of three “finalists” was leaked to the media. Although 11th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge William Pryor remains on that list, according to White House officials, his appeal has faded following complaints from evangelicals about his record.
The other two judges on the list were 10th Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Neil Gorsuch and 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Thomas Hardiman. Both were on Trump’s “short list” released during the presidential election campaign.
Gorsuch is, like Scalia, an originalist when it comes to the Constitution of the United States. He also has a record of interpreting broadly on matters of religious freedom, having offered opinions in support of both Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor in their respective cases.
Hardiman hasn’t developed the same record of originalist interpretation of the Constitution. He has, however, offered opinions favorable to religious freedom, as well as to “law and order” activists. {eoa}
