ConfirmThem

By Marshall Manson Posted in SCOTUS — Comments () / Email this page » / Leave a comment »

Many others have already speculated about who might be nominated to the Court now that Judge Roberts has been tapped to be Chief Justice. I don't have any particular inside knowledge, and Erick seems to be the one with all of the highly placed anonymous sources (though if anyone wants to send me a tip, feel free to e-mail me.) Nevertheless, I'll weigh in with a few thoughts and predictions:

(1) The President will wait until after the Roberts hearing is complete before making the next nomination, but it's unlikely he will wait until after the final Roberts confirmation vote at the end of the month. As we all learned with the original Roberts nomination, the outside vetting process (ABA, Judiciary Committee, etc.) takes a minimum of about four weeks. If the President wants the nominee to take his or her seat prior to Thanksgiving, that vetting process needs to begin sooner rather than later.

(2) While it's likely that the President will nominate a woman, it's not a certainty. This president has demonstrated repeatedly that his process for making key appointments is intensely personal. He has a demonstrated record of selecting the person he believes is best for the job, regardless of race, gender, or political consequences (see Bolton, John).

UPDATE: I was writing this post when Erick put up his post below. Again, I know he's got better sources, but I would bet big bucks that the White House does not wait until the final Roberts vote to make the other nomination. The time issue will simply become too pressing.