Former Republican senator Kelly Ayotte will be assisting the White House in pushing the new Supreme Court nominee through the confirmation process, a senior White House official told the Washington Post on Tuesday.
Ayotte narrowly lost her reelection bid for her New Hampshire Senate seat to then-Gov. Maggie Hassan. Ayotte is a moderate and the Trump team likely chose her to work both sides of the aisle during what is sure to be an ugly fight, with Democrats still fuming over the GOP’s refusal to hold hearings or a vote on President Obama’s nominee Merrick Garland.
Ayotte was also a vocal critic of now-President Donald Trump during the election, saying she would be voting for Vice President Mike Pence in October. She got in hot water shortly before the election when she said she considers Trump to be a role model, a comment she later walked back.
{mosads}According to the Post, Ayotte will serve as a sherpa by guiding the nominee through the potentially contentious confirmation fight to fill the seat of the late conservative Justice Antonin Scalia.
The former lawmaker will personally introduce the nominee to various senators and accompany him or her to meetings, the report noted.
Several other political veterans will assist the nominee in navigating the Senate, according to the Post.
The director of nominations for the White House legislative affairs office, Makan Delrahim, will be responsible with directing strategy and outreach efforts. The deputy White House chief of staff Rick Dearborn and the White House director of legislative affairs Marc Short will also be involved in the project.
Additionally, Ron Bonjean, the former chief of staff to the Senate Republican Conference, Mary Elizabeth Taylor, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) former aide, and other White House officials will join the effort to secure the Senate confirmation for the future nominee, according to the Post.