Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) said Sunday that he wouldn’t accept a Supreme Court nomination after President Trump included his name on a list of potential nominees.
The Texas senator told Fox News’s “Sunday Morning Futures” that he would not be interested in joining the Supreme Court as a Trump nominee.
“It is deeply honoring,” he told Maria Bartiromo when she asked if he wanted the job. “It’s humbling to be included in the list. I’m grateful that the president has that confidence in me.”
“But it’s not the desire of my heart,” he added. “I want to be in the political fight. I want to be fighting to nominate and confirm three, four, five principled constitutionalist justices.”
“I want to stay fighting right where I am in the U.S. Senate,” Cruz continued.
Trump last week released a list of 20 potential Supreme Court nominees that included two other GOP senators, Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) and Josh Hawley (R-Mo.).
After his name was announced, Cotton tweeted that it is “time for Roe v. Wade to go.” Hawley, meanwhile, said he had “no interest” in serving on the highest court in the U.S.
Trump’s list also included Noel Francisco, the former solicitor general.
The White House released the list in hopes of garnering enthusiasm for the 2020 presidential election and the push for more conservative judges as Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden leads in national polls.
Trump won support from conservative voters when he issued a similar list of potential Supreme Court nominees in May 2016. The president has nominated two justices to the Supreme Court — Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh — and could get the opportunity to nominate another, especially if he wins a second term.
The Republican Senate confirmed Trump’s 200th overall judicial appointee in June.