“The White House on Monday mobilized a team to support President Trump’s soon-to-be announced Supreme Court pick, as Democrats launch preemptive attacks against Trump’s future choice to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the high court,” per Fox this Monday.
The team consists of lawyers from both the White House Counsel’s Office and the Justice Department, with White House Counsel Don McGahn spearheading the White House’s effort to name and confirm the eventual pick.
Last week, President Trump said that his nominee would be announced on July 9:
I will be making my choice for Justice of the United States Supreme Court on the first Monday after the July 4th Holiday, July 9th!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) June 30, 2018
Democrats are purportedly planning to use health care and the abortion debate as part of their messaging against any Trump pick.
Ilyse Hogue, the President of NARAL Pro-Choice America, added some evidence to that claim: “This will be a 50-state campaign [against a pro-life justice]. Our members are fired up, our phones are ringing off the hook, and we are ready to fight this fight,” she said to The Hill.
And opposition to Trump’s pick comes from inside the government as well: many sitting Democratic senators, including Gillibrand (NY), Booker (NJ), and Harris (CA) “have embraced the hashtag ‘#DitchTheList,’ saying they will refuse to vote for any of the 25 potential nominees released by the White House.”
