The Dark Horse Lurking Among Potential SCOTUS Picks
*By Conor White*
While most reports indicate Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett are the two front-runners to fill the soon-to-be-vacant seat on the Supreme Court, USA Today reporter David Jackson believes President Trump could have a surprise in store for everyone.
In an interview Thursday on Cheddar, Jackson hinted that Raymond Kethledge, a Michigan-based appeals court judge, is still firmly in the mix and could be the pick.
"Trump was very impressed with the fact that he's written a book about leadership," Jackson explained. "I'm told that Trump's personal feeling in these personal interviews is going to be very important, and apparently he got along quite well with Kethledge."
But Kethledge is contending with two other popular candidates. Coney Barrett is a former Notre Dame professor and was Trump's pick for a seat on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Kavanaugh is a former clerk for Justice Anthony Kennedy, who will retire at the end of the month, and worked for Ken Starr during the Bill Clinton/Monica Lewinsky investigation. Jackson believes the job is his to lose.
"He's been around a long time, he's a well known guy," he explained. "I would say he's really the favorite."
But there's an opportunity for someone to play the spoiler. Jackson pointed out not everyone is a fan of the 53-year-old Kavanaugh.
"He also has his critics, a lot of whom point out he worked for George W. Bush, which isn't a plus in Trump World."
That detail may open the door for Barrett. Jackson noted that while she's been a judge for less than a year, the 46-year-old has plenty of supporters, thanks to her religious beliefs.
"She also was involved in a very controversial confirmation earlier this year, where her Catholic faith became an issue," Jackson explained. "Some Democrats questioned whether she could fairly judge the abortion issues and privacy issues because she was such a devoted Catholic, and of course that created quite a flap and created a lot of fans for Judge Barrett among religious conservatives, who are very important to the Trump administration."
President Trump is expected to announce his pick to replace Kennedy on July 9th.
For the full segment, [click here.](https://cheddar.com/videos/two-frontrunners-emerge-for-scotus-seat)
Concerns over inflation have become one of the biggest worries for executives. A survey from The Conference Board shows that more than 900 CEOs consider inflation a top tier concern, a major shift from last year's survey that had it as a low-level concern. Rebecca Ray, Executive Vice President, Human Capital, The Conference Board joined Cheddar's Opening Bell for more.
Jordan Zakarin, Media Producer at A More Perfect Union, joined Cheddar News to break down the latest from Colorado, where at least 8,700 Kroger employees walked off the job in demand of increased benefits and wages.
With the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing rapidly approaching, clouds of controversy continue to swirl around China's treatment of the Uyghur Muslim minority population, its surveillance state, and security for visiting athletes. Phelim Kine, China correspondent for Politico, joined Cheddar to break down the big storylines surrounding the Beijing Games and highlight what he saw as the complete disregard by top corporate sponsors like P&G, Airbnb, Intel, Visa, and Coca-Cola, for the controversies. "They spend $100 million for every Olympics that they sponsor, and they have frankly shown absolute willful indifference to any type of entreaty to essentially be more vocal about their concerns about human rights in China," he said. Kine also touched on the data privacy fears for athletes as visiting contingents are being told to carry burner phones to avoid security risks.
Texas's six-week abortion ban remains in effect after a federal appeals court ruling on Monday. The U.S. court of appeals for the fifth circuit temporarily transferred the case to the Texas Supreme Court, which is expected to leave the dispute in limbo for months to come. Katie Barlow, attorney and media editor of SCOTUSblog, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
Hugh Odom, founder and president of Vertical Consultants, shared his expertise on telecommunications with Cheddar on the safety issue raised about 5G deployment by airlines. The installation was partially delayed again on Tuesday as the airlines warned of potentially catastrophic delays in a letter to the Biden administration. Later, both Verizon and AT&T relented and put a pause on some of the implementations. "The first thing the Biden administration needs to do is get everybody in the room and say, look, aviation industry, identify the problem — wireless industry, come up with a solution," said Odom.
Dave Levinthal, deputy Washington Bureau chief at Insider, joins Cheddar News to discuss Gallup's new survey that reveals more Americans leaned Republican by the end of 2021.
Women's March ATX rally, Saturday, Oct., 2, 2021, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, Texas. An expected decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in the coming year to severely restrict abortion rights or overturn Roe v. Wade entirely is setting off a renewed round of abortion battles in state legislatures. (AP Photo/Stephen Spillman, File)
Inflation in the U.S. is only getting hotter. The 12-month inflation rate for December 2021 was the highest in nearly 40 years - continuing the trend seen at the close of 2021.
The Consumer Price Index increased 7% in the 12-month period ending in December, marking the fastest increase since 1982. Scott Wren, Senior Global Market Strategist at Wells Fargo Investment Institute, joined Cheddar's Movers for more.
If President Biden runs for re-election in 2024, he may not have anyone to debate. The Republican National Committee sent a letter to the commission on presidential debates, saying the RNC will require candidates to pledge not to participate in those general election debates. Paris Dennard, RNC national spokesperson, joins Cheddar News to discuss.
