President Trump, who counts his two Supreme Court appointments as among his greatest successes, on Wednesday issued a new list of 20 potential nominees to the court, reviving an issue he believes was a key to his victory four years ago as he faces a difficult re-election fight.
In 2016, similar lists helped persuade wary conservatives to support his unconventional candidacy, particularly because the death of Justice Antonin Scalia that February had created a pending vacancy. The new list, which included three senators and two former solicitors general, was issued although there is no current vacancy, suggesting that the move had at least partly political aims.
The new list included three Republican senators: Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri. Over the nation’s history, it was not unusual for sitting senators to be named to the Supreme Court, though it has been almost half a century since a former senator sat on the court.