Ayotte to Help President Sell Supreme Court Nominee in the Senate: Report

WASHINGTON, D.C. — That “No, thank you,” that President Donald Trump issued after former U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s name was floated as a possible member of his cabinet or administration appears to have become a “yes, please, thank you,” according to the Washington Post, which is reporting that she’s been tapped to help guide the president’s first U.S. Supreme Court nominee through the vetting process.

Trump is expected to make the nomination announcement tonight.

Ayotte, according to a White House source, will be leading the effort to “serve as the nominee’s so-called sherpa, personally introducing the pick to senators and escorting him or her to meetings and the confirmation hearing,” according to the report, due to her moderate political positions and ability to work with colleagues across the aisle.

The decision to have Ayotte assist seems to be an about face by the president who told media outlets two weeks after the election that Ayotte was not being considered for a cabinet position after renouncing her support for the candidate in the wake of the release of an 11 year old video that caught Trump on an open mic bragging about his sexual escapades that some likened to crowing about assault. He later likened the inappropriate comments to locker room talk. Ayotte announced in October that she would not be voting for the Republican nominee but, instead, would be writing in his running mate, then-Gov. Mike Pence, R-IN.

Ayotte lost her re-election campaign by about 1,000 votes after illegal mailers flooded the state purporting to show NRA support for independent candidate Aaron Day.

The chairman of the New Hampshire Democrat Party, Ray Buckley, issued a one sentence statement upon hearing the news that Ayotte would be assisting the Trump administration: “I absolutely support and endorse Kelly Ayotte getting to fulfill her wish of working for her role model Donald Trump.”

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