Trump legal adviser talks up Kavanaugh and Barrett for Supreme Court

Caren Bohan | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Why the fight to replace Justice Kennedy will be 'epic' Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is officially retiring, which gives President Trump another opportunity to appoint a justice. Here’s why the stakes are so high.

WASHINGTON – Two candidates on President Donald Trump’s list of potential Supreme Court nominees – federal appeals court Judges Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett – were singled out for praise Sunday by a top legal adviser to the president, indicating they remain prominent in the search.

Trump plans to announce his pick to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy during prime time Monday night. The president also has been considering federal appeals court Judges Raymond Kethledge and Thomas Hardiman.

Leonard Leo, who is on leave from the Federalist Society and has been advising Trump over the court nomination, said he assumes Kavanaugh, Barrett, Hardiman and Kethledge “are the four” who are getting the most focus.

“Certainly, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Barrett have a lot of name recognition among supporters of the president, and I think that ultimately, when people like them are nominated, you'll see a lot of folks line up,” he said.

Leo said Hardiman of Pennsylvania and Kethledge of Michigan are “a little bit less known by conservatives. And their records are a little bit lighter.” He said that might mean it could take more time to generate the same level of conservative enthusiasm behind them.

Trump said on Sunday he not made up his mind yet but expected to do so by noon on Monday, ahead of his announcement at 9 p.m. Eastern Time.

“I’m getting very close to making a final decision. And I believe this person will do a great job,' the president told reporters before boarding Air Force One to head back to Washington from New Jersey, where he had spent the weekend at his golf club in Bedminster.

"Well, it’s still – let’s say it’s the four people. But they’re excellent. Every one. You can’t go wrong."

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told Trump he believes Kethledge and Hardiman might be easier for the Senate to confirm than either Kavanaugh or Barrett, The New York times reported, citing Republican officials briefed on the conversations.

The battle for Senate confirmation of Trump’s Supreme Court pick is likely to be one of the most intense. Conservative and liberal interest groups are poised to spend tens of millions of dollars in advertising and grass-roots activity.

Shift to the right

Any of the candidates on Trump’s short list would probably move the court to the right. Though Kennedy is a conservative, he was often a swing vote on big decisions, such as same-sex marriage, abortion and affirmative action.

Republicans control the Senate by a 51-49 majority, making any efforts by Democrats to thwart Trump’s nominee an uphill battle. The liberals’ effort probably will focus on moderate GOP senators, such as Maine’s Susan Collins and Alaska’s Lisa Murkowski, who might be wary of adding a hard-line conservative and risking decades-old precedents such as Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in 1973.

Conservatives will focus on moderate Democrats running for re-election in Trump country, such as Indiana's Joe Donnelly, North Dakota's Heidi Heitkamp and West Virginia's Joe Manchin.

Kavanaugh, 53, on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, is a favorite of the conservative legal establishment because of his long record on issues ranging from the separation of powers and executive privilege to abortion, immigration and gun rights.

But his work on President Bill Clinton's impeachment, his close ties to President George W. Bush and his ruling on President Barack Obama's health care law, which he opposed on procedural rather than broader legal grounds, have raised concerns among some conservatives.

Barrett of Indiana, 46, serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit. She rocketed to the top of Trump's earlier list of 25 Supreme Court candidates after her performance during her confirmation hearing last fall, when Democrats cited her deep Catholic faith as a potential problem. She is the mother of seven children, including two from Haiti and one with special needs.

Barrett spent much of her career as a law professor at the University of Notre Dame and has served as a judge for eight months, which gives her the least experience of any of the potential nominees.