President Trump unveiled Wednesday his revamped list of potential Supreme Court justices that includes 20 new names, including Sens. Tom Cotton (R-Neb.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas) .
Why it matters: Top aides and advisers to the president urged him months ago to put together a new list of justices ahead of Election Day to pump up his base and remind them why a Republican needs to remain in the White House.
- The notable new additions to the list also include Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Kentucky Attorney General Daniel Cameron.
- The idea for the revised list took on increased urgency after the court ruled on two major cases in June — one prohibiting discrimination on the basis of gender identity, and another determining the Trump administration violated federal law in how it tried to end the Obama-era DACA program.
What we're hearing: Judge Amy Coney Barrett, who has long been viewed in Trumpworld as next in line to fill a vacancy on the bench, is still at the top of the list, along with Judge Amul Thapar and Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah).
- Many within the conservative movement have been lobbying the Trump administration to give more consideration to Lee, especially after his performance fiercely defending the Constitution during Trump's impeachment proceedings, one source familiar with the discussions tells Axios.
Behind the scenes: The list's release was originally slated to take place prior to the Republican National Convention — providing another talking point for Trump's re-election campaign.
- White House Counsel Pat Cipollone played a big role in the creation of the list, sources involved in the process tell Axios.
The bottom line: "The list is a political statement as much as a working document," one of the sources said. “You're trying to create as many touch points as possible to people who you want to re-elect him as president, and energize them to help him get re-elected."
- "But secondly, it is a working document, in the sense that he’s making a commitment to pick from the list, so you can't just throw it to the political wind. You have to be committed to only putting people on the list that you’ll be comfortable appointing to the court.”