The White House is reportedly vetting its next possible SCOTUS nominee

The White House is reportedly in the process of vetting federal appellate Judge Jane Kelly as a potential nominee for the Supreme Court vacancy created by the recent death of Justice Antonin Scalia, a source told The New York Times. The Times reports the FBI has been conducting background interviews on Kelly, 51, who was a career public defender before becoming an appeals court judge three years ago.

Kelly won "quick and unanimous" confirmation from the Senate and, notably, was praised heartily in a 2013 Senate floor speech by Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), who is now leading the Republican campaign against President Obama picking a nominee. Grassley urged his Senate colleagues to confirm Kelly as a federal appellate judge, quoting from a letter that described her as a “forthright woman of high integrity and honest character” and an individual of “exceptionally keen intellect," The New York Times reports.

Both the White House and Kelly have declined to comment on the rumors.

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