The Note: Who Will Be the Next SCOTUS Nominee?

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January 31, 2017

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Who Will Be the Next SCOTUS Nominee?

The Big Story

Whatever the atmosphere now, ratchet it up about 11 more partisan notches at 8 pm ET on Tuesday. That's when President Trump will announce his Supreme Court nominee. Never has a nominee inherited this kind of political environment, or this kind of freshly challenging issue set. He (and it's probably a he) will be grilled on executive powers and the specific order that led to the Monday night firing of the acting attorney general. The pressure will be enormous on Democrats to do everything they can – up to and including filibustering – to block a nominee who doesn't answer those kinds of questions, which no nominee is likely to do. And a filibuster would bring the nuclear option to the Senate's consideration of nominees for the high court – just another crisis to spend some time with this young administration.

The Sleeper Story

Democrats are awake now. President Obama is off the bench. Members of Congress are chanting with the protestors. The party has found its cause --blocking the Trump agenda. Just a week ago, talk in Washington was about how Chuck Schumer could be a closer partner to the president than Mitch McConnell. Now, the president is making fun of Schumer's tears when he appeared alongside people impacted by the travel ban. Add that to the late-night firing of an acting attorney general over an entirely political disagreement and you have a base plus elected officials who are losing any incentive to work with the new president. Democrats can thank the president for showing them the strategy that now seems inevitable for the next four years: stand strong, and stand in his way.

The Shiny Story

For the first time, President Trump got to say, "you're fired." The statement dismissing Sally Yates as acting attorney general is a doozy, accusing her of having "betrayed the Department of Justice" and being "weak on borders and very weak on illegal immigration." Attributed to simply "the White House," the statement is fodder for Trump interpreters to read the man and his men. Just as important as the tone of the firing is the sequence of events that led to it, of course. This moment should be remembered for the rise of Steve Bannon and Stephen Miller, the duo behind the ideology and language-crafting of the executive order that rocked the world.

TLDR

This evening at 8pm, Donald Trump will announce his nominee for the Supreme Court. It will come just about 24 hours after his firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. Yates refused to defend the president's controversial executive order regarding immigration because she said she is not convinced it is "lawful."

Trump Set to Announce His Supreme Court Pick Tonight

President Trump this week said he would announce his nominee for U.S. Supreme Court justice Tuesday night, replacing the vacancy left by the late Antonin Scalia. The court has had only eight justices since Scalia's unexpected death last February. Judge Neil Gorsuch, 49, of the 10th Circuit, and 3rd Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, 51, top Trump's short list of potential Supreme Court nominees, according to officials with knowledge of the decision. The decision is expected to be announced tonight at 8 p.m. ET from the White House, said Trump. ABC's GENEVA SANDS and AUDREY TAYLOR have more on the two front-runners. http://abcn.ws/2kn0G4f

Trump Will Keep Intact Obama-Era Order Protecting LGBTQ Employees of Federal Contractors

The White House announced Tuesday that President Trump will leave intact a 2014 Obama-era order protecting LGBTQ employees who work for federal contractors from workplace discrimination, ABC's MICHAEL EDISON HAYDEN and KATHERINE FAULDERS report. "President Donald J. Trump is determined to protect the rights of all Americans, including the LGBTQ community," the statement said. "The President is proud to have been the first ever GOP nominee to mention the LGBTQ community in his nomination acceptance speech, pledging then to protect the community from violence and oppression." http://abcn.ws/2jypVN3

Trump Fires Acting Attorney General Sally Yates for Refusing to Defend Immigration Order

The acting U.S. Attorney General, Sally Yates, was fired Monday night hours after she refused to defend President Trump's executive order regarding immigration because she is not convinced it is "lawful," according to a letter. In a statement, the White House said Yates "betrayed the Department of Justice" and was "weak on borders" and said she was being replaced by Dana Boente, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. ABC's TOM LIDDY, GENEVA SANDS and MIKE LEVINE has more. http://abcn.ws/2jPanWa

ANALYSIS: Donald Trump Forces Defining Moment for His Presidency – and the Nation

It took only a week in office for President Trump to deliver the kind of message that can't be ignored. His executive order imposing a broad travel ban impacting those coming from seven nations tells the world that the United States has a new posture on the world stage. In appearing to make good on the bold action he promised, Trump is signaling a new era to go with the new brand of leadership he brought to the office. And it took only hours after that order was issued for the nation to become engulfed in a defining debate about national security, compassion and what it means to be American. The chaotic aftermath of the president's move could have consequences for the rest of Trump's tenure -- and beyond, ABC's RICK KLEIN writes. http://abcn.ws/2kIwdLG

Happening on the Hill

Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly is expected to visit Capitol Hill today to brief the bipartisan leaders of the House and the Senate, as well as the top members on the House and Senate Homeland Security Committees, on the president's immigration E.O, ABC's ALI ROGIN and JORDYN PHELPS notes. The Senate will vote on the floor today to confirm Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao (she's expected to sail through) and the relevant committees will hold their votes to report out the nominations of Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, HHS Secretary Tom Price and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Republicans on Capitol Hill will mostly likely face questions today on what they think about Trump canning acting AG Sally Yates over her refusal to enforce the immigration executive order, including when House Speaker Paul Ryan holds a press conference at 10 AM today.