Move matches one by Donald Trump, who released a list of potential judicial appointments in 2016
On Monday, Vivek Ramaswamy became the first 2024 Republican presidential candidate to release a list of top judicial appointments that he would make if he becomes president.
Ramaswamy's list includes a pair of Republican senators, Sens. Ted Cruz, of Texas, and Mike Lee, of Utah, as possible nominees for the U.S. Supreme Court or federal appellate courts. The list also names a pair of federal judges who ruled against President Biden in separate decisions.
The 37-year-old founder of Strive Asset Management told The Associated Press during an interview Monday that he was releasing the list to show voters the candidates he believed were in line with their judicial interests.
"It's important when you're asking voters to select the next president of the United States, that you be as transparent as you can about what you're going to do," Ramaswamy said.
Vivek Ramaswamy became the first 2024 Republican presidential candidate to release a list of top judicial appointments. (Eva Marie Uzcategui/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
He is the first Republican to share such a list during the 2024 primary campaign. The move matches a decision of former President Donald Trump, also a 2024 candidate, who released a list of potential judicial appointments during the 2016 campaign, when the winner of the general election was going to be tasked with choosing the replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia.
The direction of the Supreme Court was a powerful issue for Trump in his 2016 bid, and remains at the forefront of voters’ minds going into the 2024 contest as the high court recently struck down affirmative action in education and ended Biden’s student loan handout.
Sen. Ted Cruz was among the potential Supreme Court picks on Ramaswamy's list. (AP Photo/Michael Laughlin)
Trump’s decision was widely praised by his supporters and helped secure the nomination in a Republican primary that had over a dozen candidates.
Sen. Mike Lee is a potential Supreme Court pick for Vivek Ramaswamy. (Cheriss May/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Ramaswamy's list includes several prominent conservative legal names and federal judges who he would elevate to appellate seats.
It includes Judge Kathryn Mizelle, who struck down Biden's air travel mask mandate in 2022, and Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who struck down the FDA's two-decade-long approval of the abortion pill. Both are Trump appointees.
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The list also includes Paul Clement, who served as solicitor general under former President George W. Bush, as well as James Ho, another Trump nominee, who Ramaswamy said quoted his own book, "Woke, Inc.," in one of his rulings.
Ramaswamy clarified that he would not nominate Cruz or Lee if it would upset the balance of the U.S. Senate, where the Democratic Party currently holds a majority by two votes.
Vivek Ramaswamy is looking to become the latest political outsider to capture Republican enthusiasm and win his party’s nomination. (Lisa Lake/Getty Images for SiriusXM)
Ramaswamy is looking to become the latest political outsider to capture Republican enthusiasm and win his party’s nomination. He will have to do so running against Trump, former Vice President Mike Pence, and Republican stars such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
