An adviser to President Trump on judicial issues said Sunday that he believes Trump’s Supreme Court pick will be confirmed before November’s midterm elections.
Leonard Leo, who is on leave from the Federalist Society to aid Trump in selecting his replacement for retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, said on ABC’s “This Week” that he’s confident the president and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) “can get anybody confirmed.”
Leo brushed aside concerns from Democrats that the future of Roe v. Wade could be at stake with a new justice on the bench, calling Democratic arguments that the future justice could overturn the law “a bit of a scare tactic.”
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Leo has argued that speculation over the future of Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide, is not new with a Supreme Court pick. The Trump aide said Sunday that “every nominee gets concerns expressed about them.”
Trump is scheduled to announce his pick to replace Kennedy on Monday night. He is expected to choose a candidate from a pre-existing list of 25 candidates. Trump reportedly conducted interviews last week with at least seven candidates.
While the White House did not identify all of the interviewees, Trump’s shortlist is thought to include federal appeals judges Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett and Raymond Kethledge, among others.