Releases short list of potential Supreme Court nominees to reassure conservatives

In mid-May 2016, Trump released a list of 11 judges he said he would consider for the Supreme Court to replace Justice Antonin Scalia, framing it as proof that he would appoint “like-minded” conservatives and urging skeptical Republicans to rally behind him. The list, drawn largely from the Federalist Society and Heritage Foundation pipelines, was an overt attempt to trade future judicial power for party unity, signaling to religious conservatives and anti-abortion activists that backing him would lock in hard-right courts for a generation. By treating the Court as a bargaining chip and naming specific ideologically vetted candidates, he reinforced a transactional view of the judiciary and helped normalize the idea that partisan groups could effectively pre-select Supreme Court nominees.

"The names on this list are people that will uphold the Constitution of the United States and the laws of our country. I plan to use this list as a guide." — May 18–19, 2016 campaign materials and coverage of Trump’s release of 11 potential Supreme Court nominees as a signal to conservatives about the type of judges he would appoint