Donald Trump Considering Ted Cruz for the Supreme Court

To give a boost to his re-election campaign, President Donald Trump revealed a list of 20 potential Supreme Court nominees on Wednesday, per USA Today. The list was comprised of federal appeals and district court judges as well as several Republican senators. Sen. Ted Cruz is one of the many individuals that Trump said that he would consider for the Supreme Court if there is a vacancy on the panel.

Trump revealed his list of individuals whom he would consider for the Supreme Court to elevate the nation’s highest court as an issue for the upcoming presidential election. He made a similar move when he initially ran for president in 2016. Although, at the time, there was a vacancy on the Supreme Court following the death of Judge Antonin Scalia. In response to Trump’s list, Cruz released a statement in which he said that it was an “immense honor” to be considered for the position by the president.

“I am grateful for the president’s confidence in me and for his leadership in nominating principled constitutionalists to the federal bench over the last four years,” Cruz’s statement began. “As a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, I’ve been proud to help confirm to the bench over 200 of President Trump’s judicial nominees, including two to the Supreme Court. It’s humbling and an immense honor to be considered for the Supreme Court. In the Senate, I have been blessed to lead the fight to preserve our constitutional liberties — every day, to defend the rights of 29 million Texans — and I look forward to continuing to do so for many years to come.”

According to the Texas Tribune, Cruz has fielded questions in the past about potentially serving on the Supreme Court. In May of 2016, the Texas senator explained that he wasn’t interested in becoming a judge on the United States Supreme Court. Instead, he said that he was more interested in shaping the court as a senator. “That is not a desire of my heart,” he said at the time. “I am committed to the fight of ensuring we have strong principled constitutionalists on the court, but I believe that I can do a great more good fighting across the political spectrum.”