Judge Garland, 63, and Judge Srinivasan, 49, are undergoing background checks by the F.B.I., according to a person knowledgeable about the process, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because it has been cloaked in secrecy.
The White House is also vetting Ketanji Brown Jackson, 45, a federal trial judge, according to The National Law Journal, which cited a lawyer who had been interviewed by the F.B.I. Judge Jackson formerly served on the United States Sentencing Commission and is related by marriage to the House speaker, Paul D. Ryan, Republican of Wisconsin. Earlier this week, the president was reported to also be vetting Jane L. Kelly, another federal appeals court judge…
Judge Srinivasan and Judge Kelly were confirmed unanimously by the Senate in 2013. Judge Kelly had the enthusiastic support of a home-state senator, Charles E. Grassley, an Iowa Republican who is now the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. But he has said the next president should fill the court vacancy.
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