By J. Lyn Carl, GalleryWatch.com
Washington, D.C. –
Texas' junior U.S. Senator John Cornyn, whose name has been mentioned as a possible replacement for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, today said in an interview with CNN that he has not been contacted by White House officials regarding a possible nomination.
O'Connor, the first female member of the U.S. Supreme Court, today offered her letter of resignation to President George W. Bush. She has indicated she will continue to serve until a successor is appointed and confirmed.
Denying any contact regarding the vacancy, Cornyn said, "I love my job in the Senate. I'm honored to be here."
Cornyn, a former Republican Texas Attorney General before his election to the U.S. Senate, said he expects Bush has a range of candidates from whom to pick O'Connor's successor. He also said Bush will "likely" have more than one vacancy to fill on the nation's highest court, as speculation is that Chief Justice William Rehnquist will retire soon due to health problems. Rehnquist has been battling throat cancer.
"I'm sure they have a list of highly qualified candidates" for the vacancy on the Supreme Court, said Cornyn. He said he is confident Bush will pick a "highly qualified individual," and noted that although the Senate is not empowered to make the choice of the next high court member, its responsibility is to conduct investigations into the background of those nominees.
In addition to Cornyn, the names of two other Texans have been floated as possible Supreme Court vacancy nominees - U.S. Attorney General Alberto "Al" Gonzales, appointed by Bush last November and also appointed by then-Gov. Bush as a Justice on the Texas Supreme Court; and Harriet Miers, who was chosen by Bush to replace Gonzales as the president's top legal counsel when Gonzales became U.S. Attorney General.