Brian Sandoval Being Vetted for Supreme Court Spot?

| published February 24, 2016 |

By R. Alan Clanton, Thursday Review editor

Just as the battle lines had formed predictably and the battlefield trenches were being prepared, the emerging fight over how—and when—a replacement for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia would be chosen just got more complex, or perhaps, closer to a reality.

Reuters and the Associated Press are each reporting that word has leaked from the White House that President Barack Obama, in an effort to tamp down major resistance from Republicans in Congress, may select…a Republican…(you read this correctly) as his nominee to fill Scalia’s vacant chair on the high court.

According to reliable sources, the White House is strongly considering Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, now in his second term as governor, and someone who once served as a federal judge, to replace Scalia. The choice of Sandoval would, in theory, blunt the concern of Senate Republicans that Obama will use Scalia’s sudden passing as an opportunity to attempt to reshape the court, nudging its 5-4 conservative/liberal balance sharply to the left.

Scalia died on February 13 while on a hunting trip to West Texas. His physician has said that Scalia was being treated for high blood pressure, heart problems, and borderline diabetes. Scalia was also overweight, and under his orders from his doctor to alter his diet and exercise in an attempt to shed some of the weight. Scalia died in his sleep during the night, and his body was discovered the next morning after he failed to appear for breakfast at the hunting lodge where he was vacationing.

Within hours, Republicans issued statements suggesting a fight in Congress over any Obama appointee, fearing that the President would select a liberal to fill the seat formerly occupied the conservative Scalia. Later that night, only minutes before Republican presidential candidates were to start a debate on live television, Obama gave a brief press conference in which he vowed to fulfill his constitutional responsibilities, and immediately begin the orderly search for a replacement for Scalia.

Thus, the stage was set for what many believed then—and most still believe now—may be an epic fight over the future of the Supreme Court.

But Sandoval’s selection, if it proves to be true, would in theory take the wind out of the sails of GOP lawmakers primed for a fight. Yesterday and again on Wednesday, Republican leaders in Washington attempted to more-or-less permanently table the question of a replacement until after the November elections, in effect demanding that the President pass the baton to his successor, whether Democrat or Republican.

Most political observers suggest that the move by the White House is meant to not only blunt GOP fears, but also punch a wide hole in any procedural roadblock likely offered by the U.S. Senate. GOP leaders said this week that they don’t even intend to hear comments or make room for the issue on their schedule—an attempt to deny the President any option of receiving “the advice and consent of Congress,” as set forth in the constitution. The move is also being generally regarded as, perhaps, one final attempt by the President to reach out to Republicans in an effort to find agreement on…anything. By choosing a relatively conservative GOP governor with substantial experience on the federal court, Obama is making it difficult for Republicans in the Senate to just say no.

In theory, and on paper, it is a savvy move, one which Democrats will no doubt seize upon as an example of a President making every effort to meet Republicans halfway on a critical issue before the country.

But some Republicans are already putting on the brakes. A few have gone as far as to suggest that the rumors that Sandoval tops the White House short list are mere trial balloons to see if GOP lawmakers will poke their heads out of the trenches; still other skeptical Republicans worry that the Sandoval offer is an old-fashioned bait-and-switch: a ploy to lure Senate Republicans to climb completely out of the trenches, agreeing to holding confirmation hearings, then facing the possibility that Sandoval will decline the nomination, or that the President will nominate someone more liberal instead.

Sandoval may in fact be an ideal choice, and could easily meet the often complex criteria necessary to appease both Senate Democrats and Republicans. Sandoval, at 52, is also the right age for a Supreme Court appointment—neither too young nor too old, and his Mexican heritage (he was born in Redding, California) means additional Latino representation will be present on the highest court in the land. But neither Republicans nor Democrats can be necessarily accused of pandering for his selection. Sandoval received his Bachelor’s Degree (majoring in English and Economics) from the University of Nevada, and his law degree from Ohio State University.

Media reports have abounded over the last few hours over the possibility that Obama may tap Sandoval for the court. Sandoval has apparently met twice with some Senate members of both parties over the weekend and again this week, and to some observers the biggest clue came from closed-door meetings in the U.S. Capitol with Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid and his staff.

The irony of that meeting will also no doubt play out in the press over the next few days: Harry Reid’s son, Democrat Rory Reid, challenged Sandoval in the 2010 general election for governor in Nevada. That year Sandoval won easily, beating the younger Reid in every county in the state, and scored a lopsided 53 to 41% victory in the popular vote. In 2012, Sandoval was given a prime time speaking slot at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida—an effort by the GOP leadership to create a more prominent face to the Latino segment of the Republican Party.

Related Thursday Review articles:

West Texas Judge Consulted With Scalia Physician; R. Alan Clanton; Thursday Review; February 16, 2016.

The Scalia Replacement: Expect an Epic Fight; Keith H. Roberts; Thursday Review; February 15, 2016.