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President Donald Trump said Senator Ted Cruz could be Supreme Court nominee in the near future, praising the Texas Republican during a speech in Corpus Christi on Friday evening.<\/p>\n
Trump, who was once a fierce critic of Cruz, called the senator \u201can amazing guy\u201d who is \u201cso good and so talented.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m thinking about putting him in the Supreme Court,\u201d Trump said. \u201cI\u2019m thinking because it\u2019s very hard, getting these nominations through is tough.\u201d<\/p>\n
The president added that Cruz would receive \u201c100%\u201d of the Democratic and Republican vote, arguing that Cruz\u2019s foes would \u201cwant to get him out of [the Senate]. He is such a pain in the ass.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump also floated the idea of a Cruz Supreme Court appointment during a speech last month, calling the senator a \u201cbrilliant legal mind.\u201d Cruz, however, shot the proposal down in January.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy answer\u2019s not just no, it\u2019s hell no,\u201d he said<\/a>. \u201cIt is interesting in the first Trump term, the president talked to me about all three Supreme Court vacancies, and we had very serious conversations and I told him no all three times.\u201d<\/p>\n Cruz added that he wants to be \u201cright in the middle\u201d of political battles, something the Republican said a \u201cprincipled federal judge\u201d would stay out of.<\/p>\n After completing law school, Cruz clerked for Chief Justice William Rehnquist at the Supreme Court from 1996 to 1997. Trump first discussed the idea of nominating Cruz to the Supreme Court with the senator privately after the death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, according to Cruz.<\/p>\n \u201cI wrestled with it because I knew Justice Scalia and revered him,\u201d Cruz added. \u201cAnd to have the opportunity to succeed him, I mean, talk about taking your breath away.\u201d<\/p>\n While none of the Supreme Court justices have announced plans to retire anytime soon, there has been talk of either Samuel Alito or Clarence Thomas, the two oldest and most conservative justices, retiring within the next couple of years to give Trump a chance to replace either of them with another conservative. Thomas is 77-years-old and Alito is 75.<\/p>\n Alito is set to release a book in early October, which has sparked rumors that the conservative justice could be hanging up his robe before the beginning of the Supreme Court\u2019s next term, which also begins in October. Alito has served on the court for 20 years, while Thomas is the longest-tenured justice, nearing his 35th year on the high court.<\/p>\n When asked about Thomas or Alito potentially retiring in the near future, Trump told<\/a> POLITICO in December that he wants both of them to stay on the court.<\/p>\n \u201cBoth of those men are fantastic,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n After Republicans successfully prevented former President Barack Obama from tapping Merrick Garland as Scalia\u2019s replacement \u2014 thanks to the efforts of then-Republican Majority Leader Mitch McConnell \u2014 Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch in 2017. Trump went on to nominate two more justices, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett, during his first term. Conservatives now have a 6-3 majority, but Trump has recently been frustrated with conservative justices, including Gorsuch, Coney Barrett, and Chief Justice John Roberts.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n