Who Obama might nominate to replace Scalia on Supreme Court

WASHINGTON >> Republicans are near-unanimous in demanding that President Barack Obama leave it to his successor to nominate a candidate to fill the Supreme Court seat of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. But the president insists he plans to come forward with a nominee — and that there’s plenty of time for the Senate to weigh in.

That sets up what could be an epic election-year clash between Obama and Republicans who say they’ll refuse to vote for his nominee, who could reshape the court for decades to come.

So who will Obama pick?

Obama hasn’t said who he’s considering, but some Cabinet members, politicians and current judges are being prominently floated as possible picks:

The cabinet members

• Attoey General Loretta Lynch: Though Lynch’s nomination was fraught with politics, she’s been recently confirmed and has been received relatively well by both parties since taking over the Justice Department less than a year ago. Before Obama promoted her, Lynch was a U.S. attoey for a key district based in Brooklyn. A black woman has never served on the Supreme Court. But her role in the Obama administration could prove divisive.

• Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson: Johnson has serious credentials in many critical areas of the law, having served as the Pentagon’s general counsel and as a federal prosecutor. He has the benefit of having been Senate-confirmed multiple times — most recently in 2013 by an overwhelming majority. But Republicans loathe Obama’s executive actions on immigration that Johnson’s department put forward and are currently before the Supreme Court.

The politicians

• Califoia Attoey General Kamala Harris: Elected statewide in Califoia in 2010, Harris is a longtime prosecutor and rising Democratic star who has drawn occasional comparisons with Obama. She’s currently ruing to replace Califoia Sen. Barbara Boxer.

• Miesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar: Picking a current colleague of the senators who will be voting on Obama’s nominee could be one strategy to increase prospects for a vote. Klobuchar, in her second Senate term, is a former prosecutor and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

• Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch: The Republican senator would be nominated only if Obama decided it would be better to pick a candidate Democrats didn’t love than risk a Republican successor making the choice for him. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., has suggested Obama go with a “consensus pick” like Hatch. He’s also a key holdout in getting Senate approval for Obama’s Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

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The judges

• Sri Srinivasan: Serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Srinivasan has a compelling personal story and has long been eyed for the high court. Bo in India, he clerked for former Justice Sandra Day O’Coor, a Republican. He has the added appeal of having been confirmed unanimously less than three years ago.

• Merrick Garland: The chief judge of U.S. Court for Appeals of the District of Columbia Circuit is a Harvard Law School graduate whose name has long been in the mix. He’s considered a moderate judge and has experience on the D.C. circuit, which handles many cases involving administration actions.

• Paul Watford: Serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Watford once served as a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and worked as a federal prosecutor before Obama appointed him to the San Francisco-based court. Watford, who is black, was confirmed 61-34 in 2012.

• Jacqueline Nguyen: Serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Nguyen would be the first Asian-American on the Supreme Court. She emigrated as a child from Vietnam and worked as an assistant U.S. attoey and a judge in Califoia before Obama nominated her to federal courts.

• Patricia Millett: Serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Millett was nominated by Obama in 2013 after John Roberts joined the Supreme Court as chief justice. Her nomination lingered for months amid a fight about the filibuster. Millett had experience in the U.S. Solicitor General’s Office, arguing dozens of cases before the Supreme Court.

• Robert Wilkins: Serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Wilkins was a public defender before Obama appointed him to federal positions. Wilkins, an African-American, was raised by a single mother and is known for his involvement in civil rights issues.

• Jane Kelly: Serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit, Kelly is a former public defender who was unanimously confirmed to the St. Louis-based court. She’s eaed praise from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee. But Grassley has joined Republicans in urging delay until after the election.

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