The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court

This chapter covers in detail the search for Supreme Court nominees by the Bush administration. Toobin says that devising a list of potential nominees began even while the outcome of the 2000 election was working its way through the court, before Bush was declared the winner. Bush brought one fellow Texan with him to Washington: Alberto Gonzales, whom Bush had only recently appointed to the Texas Supreme Court. Aside from one of Gonzales’s aides, the rest of the legal team was supplied by Washington’s network of conservatives, most of whom were young, had clerked for conservative justices, and were members of the Federalist Society. They were in charge of compiling profiles of possible nominees on the short list. Years went by with no openings on the Supreme Court, but Bush wanted to be prepared to make a quick decision when the time came.

Bush had given little indication of what he sought in a judge or justice. Here and there he gave out hints to his base, such as saying once during the 2000 campaign that he would select judges like Thomas and Scalia. One thing he was devoted to was diversity, nominating several women and minorities to openings in the lower courts.