Some liberals hope to undermine Rao’s credentials even before she can assume a seat on the federal bench, sending a warning shot to the White House that they’d better think twice before nominating her to the high court.

In a Jan. 31 letter to members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, a top official with the liberal People for the American Way blasted Rao for holding “a dangerously reactionary view of the Constitution” and “inflammatory statements and writings on a wide variety of civil rights and other issues.” The letter noted that Trump is “apparently considering her for the Supreme Court should there be a vacancy.”

Conservatives are discouraging talk of Rao as a future justice, recognizing that it will only draw more scrutiny of her record, which has recently been criticized over controversial positions like her defense of dwarf-tossing and past skepticism of date rape claims.