Moments from now, President Trump will announce his much anticipated nominee to fill Antonin Scalia's vacant seat on the Supreme Court of the United States. Rumors of the most likely picks have been making the rounds for weeks with Judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado emerging as a front-runner in recent days. That said, per the Washington Post, Trump has beckoned both Neil Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman to Washington D.C. in advance of tonight's announcement sparking rampant social media debate over whether their will be a last-minute Apprentice-style challenge to determine the ultimate winner.
CNN reported that Judge Neil Gorsuch of Colorado was already in Washington and that Judge Thomas Hardiman was on his way from Pittsburgh. There was no comment from the White House about why both men were needed in the capital, but social media exploded with satirical comparisons to Trump’s television show “The Apprentice,” as well as “The Bachelor.”
Gorsuch, 49, and Hardiman, 51, have emerged as Trump’s most likely choices. A third person on the shortlist — Judge William Pryor of Alabama — has seen his chances diminish as some Republican Senate leaders have said his confirmation would be a difficult.
Pryor’s outspokenness about overturning Roe v. Wade and other controversial remarks when he was Alabama’s attorney general made even his confirmation to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit a years-long ordeal.
Of course, with several Democrats in the Senate vowing to fight any nominee that Trump puts forward, tonight's announcement is likely the easiest part of what will undoubtedly be a very contentious and drawn out path to confirmation. As we noted before (see "Schumer Vows To Fight Trump Supreme Court Nominee: 'We’re Gonna Oppose Him Tooth And Nail'"), "Fake Tears Chuck Schumer" recently told MSNBC's Rachel Maddow that he plans to fight Trump's pick "tooth and nail."
“We are not going to settle on a Supreme Court nominee."
"If they don’t appoint someone who’s really good, we’re gonna oppose him tooth and nail.”
"It's hard for me to imagine a nominee that Donald Trump chooses that would get Republican support that we could support."
All of which brings us to the inevitable final question of whether Republicans in the Senate have the intestinal fortitude to implement the "nuclear option", something we suspect Democrats would do, and have done, with minimal hesitation.
The odds are heavily skewed towards Gorsuch...
With that, here is President Trump with his decision:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cs2mUjNBqps