President Donald Trump eyes another term in the White House, and legal experts are considering the implications for the U.S. Supreme Court. According to Harvard Law Professor Mark Tushnet, Trump’s track record of securing controversial appointments with the help of a Republican-dominated Senate could pave the way for an unconventional Supreme Court nominee.
In an interview with The Guardian’s Martin Pengelly, Tushnet was asked about potential Supreme Court nominees should a vacancy arise during a second Trump term. “Trump as a person has his idiosyncrasies, I’ll put it that way,” Tushnet said before speculating about the kind of nominee Trump might put forward.
“And … I have thought about potential Trump nominees, and actually, what comes to mind is the equivalent of Pete Hegseth: a Fox News legal commentator.” Hegseth, a conservative media personality and Trump loyalist is not a legal expert but has been an outspoken advocate of the former president’s policies.
Tushnet’s comments suggest Trump could prioritize loyalty and media influence over traditional legal qualifications in his Supreme Court picks. When asked if he meant Fox News host Jeanine Pirro—also known as “Judge Jeanine”—as a possible nominee, Tushnet did not dismiss the idea.
“I wouldn’t rule it out. I don’t think it’s highly likely, but given the way those things work, and given the idea that you want people who aren’t simply judges, it’s not a lunatic thought, I guess,” he admitted. Pirro, a former judge and prosecutor, has been a staunch defender of Trump throughout his presidency and continues to be a vocal critic of Democratic policies.
Her nomination to the Supreme Court would be unprecedented, but not beyond Trump’s willingness to defy political norms. Discussing what challenges the Supreme Court might face with Trump back in office, Tushnet suggested that while the nation is not yet in a constitutional crisis, there are reasons for concern.
“My sense is that we’re not at the crisis point yet,” he said. “Like many administrations before it, the Trump administration is taking aggressive legal positions, which may or may not be vindicated. If they’re not vindicated, they’re muttering about what they’ll do. That’s happened before.”
With Trump’s history of appointing conservative justices and his potential return to the presidency, speculation over the future of the Supreme Court is only growing. If a vacancy arises, the former president’s choice could dramatically shape the court—and American law—for decades to come.