The White House on Wednesday criticized Donald Trump’s newly-released list of potential Supreme Court nominees, saying none of the names included were “consensus” choices.
“I would be surprised if there are any Democrats who would describe any of the 11 individuals as a consensus nominee,” Press Secretary Josh Earnest said in his daily media briefing. “The individual that President Obama has put forward is someone that Republicans have described as a consensus nominee.”
Earnest urged the Senate to move forward with the vetting process for Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland, who has earned bipartisan praise.
Drawing a contrast with Trump, Earnest said Obama’s choice of Garland, a moderate, “speaks to the President’s commitment to fulfilling his constitutional responsibilities to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court in a way that is consistent with his desire to protect the Supreme Court from the kind of partisan wars that it’s been subjected to of late.”
Trump’s list, released to reassure Republicans who were concerned about his right-wing bonafides, featured some of the most prominent names in conservative law.
