Don’t expect to see Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in a Supreme Court robe anytime soon.
Cruz, a Republican, told Fox News that he would not accept a nomination to the Supreme Court after landing on President Trump’s latest list of potential nominees. The senator said it was “humbling” to be included on the list, but he revealed that he is not interested in the prospect of a lifelong tenure as a Supreme Court justice.
“It is deeply honoring. It’s humbling to be included in the list. I’m grateful that the president has that confidence in me. But it’s not the desire of my heart. I want to be in the political fight. I want to be fighting to nominate and confirm three, four, five principled, constitutionalist justices,” Cruz said. “But that’s not where I want to serve.”
“I want to stay fighting right where I am in the U.S. Senate,” he added.
Cruz has the credentials of a Supreme Court justice. Following law school, Cruz clerked for former Chief Justice William Rehnquist. He went on to litigate several cases before the Supreme Court, and he was one of the attorneys who worked on the Bush v. Gore case, which decided the 2000 election.
Cruz was one of several Republican senators mentioned in Trump’s Supreme Court list, which also included Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley and Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton. Hawley similarly said that he was not interested in becoming a justice because of his desire to remain in the Senate.
