President Trump announced Tuesday he intends to nominate Neomi Rao, a key figure in the administration’s regulatory overhaul, to the federal appeals court in D.C. to fill the seat previously held by Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh.
“We were going to announce that tomorrow and I said, ‘You know, here we are, Neomi, we’re never going to do better than this,’” Trump said during the Diwali ceremonial lighting of the Diya at the White House. “I thought it was an appropriate place. So, we’re 24 hours early, but she’s going to be fantastic. Great person.”
If confirmed by the Senate, Rao will replace Kavanaugh on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, often dubbed the second most powerful court in the nation.
Kavanaugh served on the D.C. Circuit for 12 years before he was nominated to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy on the Supreme Court. He was confirmed in October.
[Also read: Trump, Mitch McConnell, and Merrick Garland attend Brett Kavanaugh’s swearing-in]
Rao thanked Trump during the event for the “confidence you’ve shown in me.”
“I think we made the right choice,” the president replied.
Rao has led the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs in the Office of Management and Budget since July, when she was confirmed by the Senate in a 54-41 vote.
