Most likely!!
Tomorrow's(2/21) edition of the New York Times has a brief story that states that Rehnquist plans to finish up the Supreme Court term and retire in June. Some senior officials told the NY Times on deep background that Bush will make his intentions known for replacing the Chief Justice in June if not before.
More on the other side of this diary . . . .
The officials also gave us an idea who will make the final list:
- Michael W. McConnell of the United States Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit
- John G. Roberts of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia
- J. Harvie Wilkinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
- J. Michael Luttig of the United States Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit
- Judge Samuel A. Alito of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit
One WH official thought that McConnell was rising on the list b/c of his well-known stance against abortion but also b/c he has support from "dozens" of liberal law professors.
Here's the link to the article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/22/politics/22memo.html
And here's another link about McConnell:
http://www.law.utah.edu/faculty/bios/mcconnellm.html
Quite frankly, I'm surprised that the list doesn't include a woman or a minority!! I'm not sure if I trust this list or not.
Does anyone have any opposition research on any of these potential nominees? Who do you think Bush will choose to replace C.J. Rehnquist?