Two Colorado jurists still are in the hunt for a U.S. Supreme Court seat according to an updated list of potential nominees released Friday by the White House.
Among the 25 names were Judges Allison Eid and Timothy Tymkovich, both of whom who sit on the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver. Tymkovich serves as chief judge there and Eid recently was confirmed to that court to fill the seat vacated by now U.S. Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch.
Eid, Gorsuch and Tymkovich all were on a previous list of potential nominees that President Donald Trump circulated during the 2016 campaign to shore up support among conservatives.
On Friday, he added five names to the current list of 20 candidates: Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Patrick Wyrick, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Britt Grant, Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Judge Kevin Newsom of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
The timing of the release is unusual, as there are no seats open on the nine-member Supreme Court.
One possibility is its use as a subtle political signal.
A tough Senate race in Alabama — made that way by accusations of sexual misconduct against Republican candidate Roy Moore — is threatening to shrink the GOP majority in the Senate, which is in charge of confirming Supreme Court nominees.
Gorsuch is the first Coloradan to serve on the Supreme Court since Byron White retired in 1993.
