Sen. Mike Lee is open to serving on the Supreme Court, should president-elect Donald Trump decide to choose him.
"If he asked me that question I would not say no," he said when asked on "The Doug Wright Show" Thursday, adding that he was "very grateful" to win reelection in November.
Lee, R-Utah, who supported Texas Sen. Ted Cruz in the Republican presidential primaries, met with Trump last month to discuss the Supreme Court and the Affordable Care Act.
Late Justice Antonin Scalia died almost a year ago, but his seat has remained empty despite President Barack Obama nominating Merrick Garland for the post.
Lee said that because he isn’t a judge "one could easily conclude that I'm less likely to be chosen" to fill the seat.
Trump's "shortlist is 21 people long," Lee said. "Presidents these days do very much tend to prefer putting a sitting jurist on the Supreme Court."
Lee's brother, Utah Supreme Court Associate Chief Justice Tom Lee, is also on Trump’s shortlist. The senator said his brother would "arguably be the best choice" for the job.
According to polling from UtahPolicy.com, the majority of Utahns would support Lee’s nomination:
- Strongly support: 34 percent;
- Somewhat support: 25 percent;
- Somewhat oppose: 10 percent;
- Strongly oppose: 21 percent;
- Don’t know: 11 percent.
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