No new vacancies are expected on the Supreme Court -- yet -- but according to ABC News, the Bush administration is looking at potential nominees anyway, in case one of the justices decides to retire at the end of this term.
It's actually not uncommon for an administration to engage in the kind of speculative list making that's going on in the White House now. As ABC notes, though, the stakes are especially high for this administration: The president's approval ratings are now slipping even among the most dedicated of his base, and out of everything President Bush has done, his base is perhaps most happy with his previous Supreme Court appointments, Justice Samuel Alito and Chief Justice John Roberts.
So back on the list now -- despite the recent Democratic takeover of the Senate, which has the power to confirm or reject a president's Supreme Court picks -- are some of the administration's favorite, and most controversial, conservative judges. ABC reports that President Bush wants a woman or a minority this time; that means lightning rods Priscilla Owens and Janice Rogers Brown, for example, are back under consideration.
Shares