Hardiman Again The Runner-Up For U.S. Supreme Court Seat

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Thomas Hardiman, the runner-up for President Trump’s first U.S. Supreme Court selection last year, was the runner-up again Monday when the president nominated Brett Kavanaugh for the high court.

Kavanaugh, a federal appeals judge in the District of Columbia, was selected to replaced Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement last month.

Hardiman and Neil Gorsuch were the two finalists in 2017 to fill the seat vacated by the death of Antonin Scalia. Trump selected Gorsuch. Over the weekend, Trump reportedly narrowed the list of contenders this time to Hardiman and Kavanaugh.

Hardiman, a Massachusetts native, drove a taxi to help pay for law school at Georgetown University. After working in private practice in Washington, D.C., Hardiman moved to Pittsburgh, the hometown of wife Lori Zappala Hardiman.

After working in private practice for more than a decade, Hardiman was appointed to the U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh in 2003 and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit in 2007.

Kennedy, 81, was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988. He provided key votes for same sex-marriage, abortion access and affirmative action.

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