Third Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Thomas Hardiman appears to have a few advantages over other candidates, in the race to become President Trump’s nominee — including a connection to Trump and Trump’s private assessment that Hardiman might be the toughest judge he can get through the Senate.
“‘He’s probably the most conservative judge that can get confirmed,'” a well-placed source familiar with the deliberations quoted Trump as saying in a private meeting.
Trump has also suggested that Senate Republicans use the nuclear option to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court justices, which would expand the window of viable judges by making it possible to confirm Trump’s pick with just 51 votes. But even then, Hardiman would appear to have an advantage over another possible nominee, Eleventh Circuit Judge William Pryor.
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