Ted Cruz hinted the other day that he might be open to a Supreme Court nomination from Donald Trump, saying: “What I will say is that history is long and can take unexpected paths.” Today, some reports are making Cruz’s positive position sound even more definitive, although folks close to Cruz say nothing has changed. The Washington Examiner today reports:
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz has informed Trump transition insiders that he would accept the nomination to take the place of the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, potentially cementing the power of the court’s conservative wing for decades, according to sources.
But another source close to Cruz said that while he is eager to help the new administration, he hasn’t committed to any new position.
Cruz hinted at his openness to joining the court Friday at a legal conference.
“Ted Cruz would absolutely accept it if offered a seat on the court,” said a transition insider.
What gives me slightly more confidence than the word of a “transition insider” are these tweets from Phil Kerpen and Sean Davis, two people I consider reliable:
Cruz world source tells me Cruz has told Trump he will accept Supreme Court seat if offered.
— Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) November 20, 2016
— Sean Davis (@seanmdav) November 20, 2016
Those tweets have me willing to believe Cruz would accept it if offered. But as to whether Trump would offer it, let’s just say I am still . . . skeptical. Trump has so far sought to select loyalists, in keeping with his longstanding rule of rewarding his friends and punishing his enemies. While he has had aides give lip service to the idea of considering his critics for this post or that one, these appear to be nothing more than empty (if not entirely unwelcome) gestures towards reconciliation.
Still, Trump should consider actually offering the spot to Cruz. Perhaps no other single move could do as much to heal the rift in the Republican Party. I feel confident that I speak for many other admirers of Ted Cruz — people who supported Cruz during the primary, and strongly opposed Trump — that nominating Cruz would be a gesture that might actually bring the party together.
And it would be a fantastic move for fans of the Constitution and limited government. Cruz is 45 years old and absolutely unwavering. He would be there for decades, and could help shape the Court’s jurisprudence in ways that would benefit the country in countless ways.
Yeah, I’m still pretty sure it will never happen. But I’ve given up predicting when it comes to Trump — and man, I’d love to be proved wrong on this one.
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