US Supreme Court.

In 2017, with support from McConnell, Trump elevated Thapar to the US Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, the second Indian-American judge to make the grade after Sri Srinivasan, who was also shortlisted for the Supreme Court by President Obama after Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in 2016.

President Obama eventually chose to nominate Merrick Garland over Srinivasan in 2016, but Senate Republicans led by McConnell blocked Obama’s pick, saying they could not consider the matter in an election year and the choice should be made by the incoming dispensation (SC nominees need a Senate hearing and vote). They eventually maneuvered to get Trump’s conservative nominee Neil Gorsuch to the Supreme Court after a titanic struggle (including changing Senate rules and procedures), ensuring that the apex courtremained tied at 4-4. An Obama nominee like Garland to replace the Conservative Scalia would have tilted the Supreme Court towards the liberal side.

Democrats are now making the same argument (that Trump cannot nominate a justice in an election year) to at least keep it tied at 4-4, but McConnell and other Republicans are countering that this is a midterm election year and not the Presidential election year, and they will hold a hearing in fall (before the November Congressional election) once Trump makes his nomination.

The Kentucky Courier-Journal, citing legal experts, reported on Wednesday under the headline "Kentuckian is on Trump's short list for the Supreme Court" that Thapar has McConnell’s backing, while noting that Thapar is "known for his colorful opinions, sprinkled with pop culture references, and