President Trump tweeted this morning that he will name who he wants to fill the vacancy of Antonin Scalia on Thursday, February 2nd.

I will be making my Supreme Court pick on Thursday of next week.Thank you!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) January 25, 2017

So the question is, “Who is it?” 

One of the people from Trump’s famous list of possible replacements is Judge Neil M. Gorsuch who currently serves on the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. There is a profile on him in the LA Times.

Judge William H. Pryor Jr. of Alabama, who sits on the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals is also a leading contender and is likely being pushed by Jeff Sessions. Somebody I spoke to said there’s a good chance people on Trump’s team don’t want to have a drawn out debate over Pryor simply because of the “Alabama” connection between Pryor and Sessions.

The real problem for Trump, however, is Charles Schumer. The New York Senator is famous for using the term “mainstream” when speaking about jurists. Naturally, Schumer’s view of the mainstream is different from most Americans. He believes anybody to the right of Ruth Bader Ginsburg is out of the mainstream.

Therefore, Democrats are going to block any nominee Trump announces.

That would move the ball to Mitch McConnell’s side of the court. Right now, the nuclear option instituted by Harry Reid does not include Supreme Court Justices. Considering where Democrats stand, it might have to be an option in order to get a judge confirmed that is in the same vein as Scalia. Otherwise, the possibility of another Anthony Kennedy exists.

Will Mitch do it? 

We’ll see.