President Donald Trump will be announcing his Supreme Court nominee tonight, and you can watch the announcement live in this article. An official live stream from the White House is included above. The announcement is expected to happen at 9 p.m. Eastern, but some station’s live streams will begin earlier than that, so nothing is missed. A live stream from ABC is below.
CBS is also broadcasting a live stream of the announcement, which you can watch below:
On Sunday, Trump tweeted: “An exceptional person will be chosen!” This will be Trump’s second Supreme Court nomination. The announcement comes after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement. Although conservative, Kennedy often sided on the liberal side of some issues, including writing the opinion that granted the right for gay marriage across the country. Some liberal voters have voiced concerns that Trump’s newer pick will be more conservative, pushing the majority of the Supreme Court on the conservative side.
Many political experts have said that Chief Justice John Roberts will be the swing vote if Trump’s new nominee is approved. Roberts was appointed by former President George W. Bush.
Trump has said that he has narrowed his pick down to four choices. He told reporters on Sunday afternoon: “It’s — well, let’s just say it’s the four people. Every one, you can’t go wrong.”
Although Trump’s finale four have not been revealed, some sources have said the choices are narrowed to three men and one woman, CNN reported. Trump’s top possible choices could be among Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Judge Thomas Hardiman, and Judge Raymond Kethledge.
Kethledge, 51, is on the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals who once clerked for Kennedy. Bloomberg suggested that Kethledge might be the safest choice and the least disliked by liberals.
Kavanaugh, 53, is on the D.C. Court of Appeals. Kavanaugh also worked for Kenneth Starr when he was investigating former President Bill Clinton. He once clerked for Kennedy.
Barrett, 46, is also widely believed to be among the final choices. She was just confirmed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in October, leaving her a bit of a wild card as far as the type of decisions she might make as a Supreme Court justice. If picked, her faith, which might influence her views on cases like Roe v. Wade, will likely be a strong focus in media coverage.
Hardiman, 53, is on the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He comes from humbler beginnings, having driven a taxi to help pay his way through law school. He was one of the top candidates in Trump’s last selection, when Trump ultimately chose Neil Gorsuch. Hardiman is a favorite of Trump’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry. Hardiman’s the only one of the main candidates who didn’t clerk for a Supreme Court judge or go to an Ivy League school, Bloomberg pointed out.
NBC News reported that Trump may have narrowed his choices down to Kavanaugh vs. Hardiman. Meanwhile, the New York Times reported that Kethledge was the lead, at least at one point.