Texas Senator Ted Cruz is pressuring President Donald Trump to select his colleague, Sen. Mike Lee, as the replacement for Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court.
Cruz wrote an editorial for Fox News saying Lee is a “sure thing” for Trump because Lee’s politics are well-known.
Most presidents are forced to gamble on a nominee they do not truly know – someone who has spent a lifetime outside the public eye. Presidents must pore over the thinnest bodies of evidence on these people, trying to discern their convictions and ability from scattered cases and the recommendations of others. It’s a risk, when what a president really needs is a sure thing.
President Trump, however, has lucked out. He has a sure thing, battle-tested, ready, and willing to serve: Sen. Mike Lee.
Sen. Lee, R-Utah, was made for this moment. No other candidate has his combination of record, ability, and a sure-fire path to confirmation – and no other candidate would excite conservative voters this November more than someone they know and trust, like Mike Lee.
Moreover, Lee safeguards President Trump’s Supreme Court legacy for all time, because there is not a single soul out there who can doubt that a Justice Mike Lee would remain true to the convictions he has fought for his entire life.
Cruz also argues Lee would be a solid conservative on the high court.
Lee would interpret the Constitution and laws according to their original meaning and text. He literally wrote the book on the lost clauses of our Constitution and how they protect our fundamental liberties.
A Justice Lee wouldn’t let activist lower courts distort the meaning of our laws and Constitution in order to impose their left-wing preferences on the nation. After all, who knows better that a judge’s job is to apply the law as it is – and not to legislate from the bench – than someone who was previously a legislator himself?
Mike Lee has a proven track record as a formidable advocate for the separation of powers, for federalism, for the Bill of Rights, and for a limited judicial role that adheres to originalism and textualism in judicial interpretation.
Cruz has been pushing Lee for the Supreme Court since Kennedy announced his retirement.
Lee and his brother Thomas are on a list of 25 possible candidates the Trump White House released last year. Trump has interviewed Lee for the job. However, Trump has reportedly removed Lee from consideration.
Trump has promised to announce his nominee on July 9.
