President-elect Donald Trump quietly met with Alabama-based Judge William Pryor on Saturday, people familiar with the unannounced meeting told The Associated Press. The move comes just a handful of days before Trump is supposed to announce his Supreme Court nominee.
Trump has already expressed that Pryor, 54, as well as Judge Diane Sykes, 59, are his favorites for the position. Pryor serves on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was the attorney general in Alabama between 1997 and 2004, following in the footsteps of Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). Sessions is Trump's choice for attorney general, and has praised Pryor as someone who "personally does not believe in abortion. He does not believe it is right. He believes it is wrong."
Pryor has slammed Roe v. Wade as the "worst abomination in the history of constitutional law," but his addition to the court would need the support of another Trump Supreme Court appointment before abortion rights could be greatly restructured.
If selected, Pryor would fill a vacancy on the court left by Justice Antonin Scalia after his death last year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) refused to give President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland, a hearing; Garland's nomination recently expired after 293 days.