Elijah is joined by super lawyer, Henry Elster

within months of the election, the presidential election, too. I can't remember how close it was, but that was a huge swing and has really cemented the 6-3 number that everyone talks about on the Supreme Court. So, you know, I don't have any specific information. I don't mean, it's everybody, but Samuel Alito makes the most sense to me. Two would seem like a lot at the same time to Supreme Court Vegas, because I don't think we've had that. Well, and not to sort of draw comparisons, but it would make sense. Samuel Alito and Breyer, one conservative, one liberal, but both sort of quieter cerebral members of the court. And then Thomas and RBG also conservative liberal, but both much larger figures on the court. It would make a lot of sense if Samuel Alito's talking and retiring and Thomas was not just in looking at past history. Right, right. And this is the perfect window coming for and coming up because you have the midterm election with an uncertain outcome, though I think the Republicans still remain on its favor to retain the Senate, but maybe the majority shrinks a little bit. And you just, we don't even know who all of the candidates will be for the presidential nomination and two years from now. Right. So this might be the last best opportunity. And I think the session ends in June. I think it's like the most controversial thing. And then like I could see like the next day. Yes. That's that's traditionally how good. Let's dive into it. I have three ways I want to ask this question. The first way I want to ask this question is Pat or Chuck Grassley, uh, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee came out yesterday and said, I would encourage a president if a vacancy occurs to nominate either Mike Lee, Utah Senator or Senator Ted Cruz for a vacancy on the Supreme Court. What are your thoughts that one of those two is in, like is in the president as a potential nominee? I think both of them are in his head as nominee. I don't think it would happen. And you and I have talked about this separately. It has been quite some time before a U.S. senator or a U.S. House member has gone from serving in that legislative position to an active Supreme Court position. And I looked it up because anticipated this might come up. The last one was Sherman Minton. Well, I never heard of before I looked at it. Old Sherman, no, I have no idea who that is. Sherman Minton was a senator from Indiana and then served on the Supreme Court. I think the problem is. But it's happened like 14 times, right? And that's it. But not in like 100 years, 80 years on that. I think it's too difficult because, I mean, what were the confirmation hearings changed so much from the Robert Bork hearings on. But I don't, I think it would be too difficult to do that. Now, the other problem we were to run into is that they have taken so many positions, those respective senators, really any senator, on policy issues about decisions. They would almost get hit with a motion to recuse where they shouldn't hear the case, they're biased, depending on what the cases, almost every politically sensitive case.

I now, and I remember that happened with Scalia on a couple Cheney cases need to decline to accuse themselves. So maybe they just decline. Well, and that's, yeah, this is every year somebody complains Supreme Court polices itself and they, they always weigh in on cases whether or not they should. It's, you know, who knows? I think still at the court, they want to promote. I mean, obviously it's the president, whoever he wants to pick, but I think there is some comment. Allen and have it not be so politicized that we have pretty well-known U.S. senators, particularly in the case of Cruz, who ran for president before, who's remembered to run again to nominated all. Of the senators being discussed, Cruz and Leah the most, and Josh Holly has sort of been out there, but it seems to be a bit at odds with Trump right now. But. all three of them, but particularly Cruz and Holly have almost impeccable legal remit resumes. Cruz's is, you know, Harvard Law School, graduated top of his class, national debate, international, I think, debate champion argued as Solicitor General of Texas argued in front of the Supreme Court numerous times. Like his academic. Stunning. Well, like 20 times because I remember when he first started running for the Senate seat. I mean, because it was being his third term or second or third term, when he first came in on there and I was reading about just his legal background. And it was something like 20 times he's arguing in front of the United States Supreme Court. It's very hard to argue up there once, let alone the number of times he did. So there's no doubt he's qualified. But the problem is now you've had multiple terms. Since the multiple statements, since I wonder if that just causes too much of a distraction. At the same time, I don't know if the president appears. Second, second way to look at this. The second way to look at this is from the perspective of Missourians. And people laugh, but I'm like between Josh Hawley and Will Sharf and John Sauer, who is Trump's current Solicitor General. Eric Schmidt, there's a, there's a plethora of names from Missouri that occasionally get thrown out there as what about this person. Do you take any of those names seriously? And if so, which ones? Well, I'm going to mention name. You didn't mention right there, too. So, well, I guess, yes, I do take the name seriously. Of the senators, I would take Holly more seriously, just because I think he would be a little more qualified, would be a lot more qualified. He was a former United States Supreme Court clerk, I think, for John Roberts. That's right. And his wife is a powerhouse lawyer up there all the time. And so I think he's clearly got the background in order to do that. Sharf makes sense. So it's pretty difficult to go from no judge spot, not actively practicing law to the U.S. Supreme Court. I think Elena Kagan did it. Yeah, she was solicitor general. Yeah, she was the Harvard Law School. You know, one name you didn't mention who just got to the 8th Circuit, he just had his hearing was Justin Smith.

Which would be maybe the fastest elevation. I didn't mention him because you're right. He's not even on the eighth. The idea he would get promoted before he even got there is hard to believe, but I guess feasible. It is feasible, and I say, right, it is feasible, but you always look for people who've got nominated before because it seems like the favorites and really digging down deep into this are people from the Fifth Circuit and Judge Cannon from Florida, people who have been nominated by Trump before, you know, they had the Jews to get through there before. It makes it seem more likely they do it. And then you'd also get to pick their replacement. all that. But no, I think people from Missouri, Josh Hawley makes the most sense, the senators. But I don't know. I question whether he'd want it to. That would be very hard to turn down at the opportunity. Yeah, I don't, I think, I can't imagine if you're offered it, you turn it down. I do, I got to say of the ones from Missouri, just because Trump likes people close to him. John Sauer to me is the one that, and if you let me, he's a St. Louis kid, but you look at his resume. Double bachelor's degree in philosophy and electrical engineering, top of his class at Duke, went to, went to the University of Oxford where he got a theology degree. He got a master's from University of Notre Dame. Then he went to Harvard Law School. on the law review, jurist Dr. Magna Cum Laude, he's now the president's right-hand guy, Solicitor General. He had like, what, a 15 match winning streak of the Supreme Court. The one downside is if he gets picked, Trump has to say he'll have to recuse on multiple cases. But if there's anybody from Missouri that I could see happening, like Sowers, John Sauer would be seen like the guy that Trump would be like, he feels he got burned, I think, on Amy Coney Barrett or Gorset or Cavana. I could see him being like, Sowers the guy. Yeah, no, absolutely. And actually kind of funny story. So he's intensely intelligent. I actually had, because he is from St. Louis, and I was helping a lawyer friend of mine who was doing an employment discrimination. He was in the prospective pool. John Sauer. Interesting. And he knew all that I'm like, we have got to get this guy off the jury. He is far too smart. He will see through my argument. He knew everything what we're doing. He might have agreed with us, but like it's just going to turn to a jury trial with one guy. Henry, we are going up on a break. Would you be able to stick around after the break? Because I have one more question just for a few more minutes. Yes, definitely. Okay. We're going to do a break. We'll be right back with Henry else. We're talking about the Supreme Court.