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)
Going into election day on Tuesday, many of us had an inkling it might not be a great day for Democrats. History tells us the president's party tends to lose congressional seats, governorships and state legislature seats in off-year and midterm elections. Tuesday turned out to be a big wake-up call for democrats. Not only did Terry McAuliffe lose in the Virginia governor's race, Gov. Phil Murphy won re-election by an incredibly slim margin. Both races saw continued Democratic losses in rural areas and a shift of suburban voters back to the GOP. Liz Landers, chief political correspondent at Vice News, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
Week one of UN climate summit is coming to an end, world leaders made a number of promises to save the planet. President Biden attended the first two days of the meeting.
Alan Neuhauser, vice president of Silverline Communications, joined Cheddar Politics to talk more about the pledges that came out from the summit and their significance.
It's been a busy week for the Supreme Court. It heard arguments on three of the most watched cases in the docket for this term. The court heard arguments in two cases challenging the Texas abortion law on Monday - one filed by abortion providers and the other by the justice department. Instead of weighing in on the constitutionality of the matter itself, justices focused on the unusual structure of the law that enables citizens to enforce the law, not the state government.
On Wednesday, the court heard arguments in the biggest Second Amendment case in more than a decade. The dispute is over a New York gun law that requires people seeking a license to carry a handgun in public to show a "proper cause." The challengers in this case claim the law inhibits their constitutional Second Amendment rights.
Amy Howe, co-founder of SCOTUSBlog, joined Cheddar Politics to break the cases down.
This is the first installment of Cheddar Changemakers, where we spotlight young activists making a difference in the world and speaking up on issues regarding mental health, voting, and climate change.
Republicans are considered, and often act like, the party opposed to action on climate change. They've made a point of fighting even modest regulations on businesses related to stemming the worst effects of climate change. But Republicans aren't a monolith on climate change, and our next guest reminds us that "conservation" and "conservative" have the same word root.
Quill Robinson, VP of government affairs at the American Conservation Coalition, joins Cheddar Politics to discuss.
The mayor of Portland, Oregon, Ted Wheeler joined Cheddar News Wrap to discuss his plans to get an increase in the city's police budget for more personnel, changes to public safety response, and more body cameras. The Democratic mayor addressed the growth in violent crimes amid the pandemic, but noted the need for officers who take their roles seriously. We want officers who understand that policing is an important responsibility, it's a high calling," he said. "We also want a police bureau that is accountable and responsible to the public it serves."
More American tech companies continue to pull their businesses out of China as the Communist Party cracks down on firms — both foreign and domestic. Yahoo and Fortnite have become the latest companies to withdraw from the country, and the withdrawals come just days after Microsoft announced it would take LinkedIn offline. Shehzad Qazi, managing director at China Beige Book International, joined Cheddar to provide some insight into how the crackdowns in China would also impact the tech companies at home in the United States.
A new report out by the Center for Countering Digital Hate shows how just ten publishers are responsible for the bulk of climate change misinformation on social media--and companies like Facebook and Google are making money off them. Imran Ahmed, CEO of the Center for Countering Digital Hate, joined Cheddar to discuss.
'The Good Liars' are Jason Selvig and Davram Stiefler, a comedy duo that's been shaking up the political world for years. They're out with a new mockumentary, 'The Supporters,' following the 2020 election. Jason Selvig & Davram Stiefler, Stunt Comedians and creators of 'The Good Liars' joined Cheddar News to discuss.
