FILE PHOTO: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito attends an event organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See, in Rome, Italy, September 20, 2025. REUTERS/Vincenzo Livieri/File Photo
A legal expert who worked opposite a future Trump judge in the Senate says he's been angling for a Supreme Court seat.
Lisa Graves, former chief counsel for nominations on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Saturday's episode of "Unprecedented" with Michael Popok that Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho is gunning for Justice Samuel Alito's seat with "absurd" rulings that cater to President Donald Trump.
"James Ho was [Sen. John] Cornyn's counsel when I was the chief counsel for nominations on the Judiciary Committee," Graves said. "He was gunning for his future Supreme Court position way back then, trying to ingratiate himself with Democrats so that he could, in my view, use them to say, 'Oh, he seems like a reasonable guy.'"
"I would never consider endorsing James Ho for the Fifth Circuit or the Supreme Court," she said.
Graves argued Ho's record on the bench shows where his loyalties lie.
"I think Ho certainly wants that post," she said. "He's made absurd claims in his opinions that I think cater in some ways to Donald Trump."
The pair were discussing speculation that Trump hopes to push Alito off the bench so he can lock in a younger conservative for decades.
"I think the tea leaves are he may well retire, and Trump wants him to," Graves said.
She added that Alito "might well decide to retire if there is a lame-duck session and Democrats take the Senate."
Graves said, "The Fifth Circuit ones are the highest prospect" to fill the seat.
Popok floated a twist. Trump, he said, "might find the Second Circuit attractive because then he gets to pick a Trumper for the Second Circuit," a reference to Alito clerks such as Judges Steven Menashi and Michael Park who sit on that court.
The two also weighed whether Trump would rather reward personal loyalty, pointing to Solicitor General John Sauer, who represented Trump in his immunity fight, as a possible pick.
Graves also suggested Alito could leave for "a cushy gig" at an outfit with "funding from Leonard Leo or other big right-wing donors."
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