Bush’s surprise pick for the Court

Harriet Miers, longtime friend and lawyer to the president, is his controversial nominee for Supreme Court justice.

What happened

President Bush this week nominated White House counsel Harriet Miers to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court. A fellow Texan and born-again Christian, Miers, 60, was formerly Bush's personal lawyer, and headed the selection committee vetting his potential judicial nominees. If confirmed, she would be the first nominee since William Rehnquist to ascend to the nation's highest court without ever having served as a judge. The president's political base, which was hoping for one of a half-dozen prominent conservative jurists, initially reacted to Miers' nomination with dismay. 'œI can understand people not, you know, knowing Harriet,' Bush said. But he said Miers was 'œplenty smart' and a strong constitutional conservative. 'œI picked the best person I could find.'

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us