Obama Vetting NorCal Native, Nevada Governor For Supreme Court
(CBS SF) – President Barack Obama is reportedly vetting Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval, a Northern California native, as a possible nominee to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court.
A source familiar with the process confirmed to CBS News on Wednesday that Sandoval, a Republican, met with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) in Washington, DC this week. The source said that they discussed the Supreme Court and that the White House was considering Sandoval.
Born in Redding in 1963, Sandoval grew up in Sparks, Nevada, near Reno. Early in his political career, Sandoval served in the Nevada Assembly, the state's Gaming Commission and was the state's Attorney General.
In 2005, President George W. Bush appointed Sandoval as a U.S. District Judge and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate. Sandoval left the bench to run for governor, winning his first term in 2010 and was reelected in a landslide in 2014.
CBS News reported that it is unclear how many people the president is considering for nomination to the Supreme Court.
If Sandoval is the nominee, Senate Republicans could be placed in the position of shutting out one of their own, after Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and other Senate leaders ruled out confirmation hearings until a new president is elected.