Harvard Law professor and Fox News contributor Alan Dershowitz said Tuesday he hopes President Trump nominates a “true conservative” to the Supreme Court in order to help broaden Trump’s base and unite the country.
“I hope [Trump] is looking for [a] libertarian conservative, a true conservative, who elevates the rights of individual over the power of government,” Dershowitz told “Fox and Friends.” “A true conservative also respects precedent, doesn’t come to the court with an agenda, with a list of issues he wants to see change.”
[Meet the contenders to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy’s seat on the Supreme Court]
Dershowitz also said Trump can be expected to choose someone not only based in part on recommendation, but also mostly on his own personal interaction with those individuals.
Fox News hosts told Dershowitz that many Democrats were against Amy Coney Barrett, who Trump met with on Monday and is one of the top names he is considering for nomination because of her religious beliefs that they feel could lead her to overturn Roe v. Wade.
“Well, you know the Constitution says no religious test shall ever be required for any office under the United States. It would be unconstitutional and immoral to take into account negatively a person’s religious views,” Dershowitz said.
Justice Anthony Kennedy announced last month that he will retire from the Supreme Court at the end of July after serving for 30 years. His vacancy allows Trump to nominate the second Supreme Court justice of his presidency.
However, Democrats have said they will attempt to block Trump’s nominee until after the 2018 midterm elections in November, when they hope to gain back the majority in Congress so they can have more control over who is confirmed.
