Pa. federal judge Thomas Hardiman likely to be considered for U.S. Supreme Court
Justice Anthony Kennedy, a key swing vote between the conservative and liberal blocs on the U.S. Supreme Court, announced his retirement Wednesday. President Trump will have his second chance to nominate a justice to the high court.
Thomas M. Hardiman of Pennsylvania, a conservative jurist on the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals, may soon get another shot to be named to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Hardiman, 52, was reportedly on President Trump's short list in January 2017 when he nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. In November of that year, the White House released a list of 25 people the president would consider for future openings; Hardiman made the cut.
Trump told reporters gathered in the Oval Office Wednesday afternoon that he intends to pick from that group. "It will be somebody from that list," Trump said. Later, he added, "They will come from that list of 25 people." The president said he hoped to move quickly on a nomination.
The Third Circuit is headquartered in Philadelphia, but Hardiman spends most of his time in Pittsburgh, where he lives with his wife, Lori, and their three children. He is a graduate of Notre Dame University and the Georgetown University Law Center.