Klobuchar for Supreme Court?
The New York Times and the Washington Post both had interviews over the weekend with U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens where he talked about his possible retirement. Stevens is 89 and said his decision will come soon.
To quote the Times:
Hints about Justice Stevens's possible departure started in September, when he confirmed that he had hired only a single law clerk, instead of the usual four, for the term that will start this fall. In occasional public statements since then, Justice Stevens, the leader of the court's liberal wing, said he had not yet made up his mind. But the White House is bracing for a summertime confirmation battle, the second of the Obama presidency.
On Face the Nation on CBS yesterday host Bob Schieffer suggested that Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar is on the list to replace Stevens, although the idea was pretty quickly shot down by CBS Chief Legal Correspondent Jan Crawford. You can see the exhange about three minutes in:
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As far as I can tell, Klobuchar's name first came up in the Huffington Post on Friday, but that piece did a service of both raising the idea and rejecting it in the same breath by saying this under Klobuchar's picture:
The current political climate, Congress' low job approval ratings and the tenuous Democratic majority in the Senate all suggest that Klobuchar, though widely considered a strong choice, is unlikely to be nominated.
I have a call into Klobuchar's office but haven't heard anything back yet.
Back in 90's state Supreme Court Justice Alan Page's name was floated as a possible U.S. Supreme Court pick. Of course nothing ever came of it. I just floated it again for no particular reason.
Update:
I just talked to Sen. Klobuchar. She says she is honored her name is being mentioned, but she's not aware of being on any short list. She says she loves her job, and she would never leave what she is doing now.
Here's the interview.