Yep, Matt Drudge is reporting that President Bush is seriously considering elevating Associate Justice Clarence Thomas to Chief Justice, should William Rehnquist retire due to health reasons, which is a very REAL possibility because of his recent treatment for thyroid cancer and he’s kinda shaky right now.
Even though Thomas has been on the Supreme Court since 1991, if this event were to occur, he would have to be formally nominated for the position of Chief Justice and go through the confirmation process all over again. One big difference this time: the Democrats can’t bring out the big guns of Anita Hill and all the liberals and NAACP members who still think Justice Thomas is an Uncle Tom. Oh they’ll try, but they will get shot down, as he would be nominated for his record since he became a SCOTUS member thirteen years ago. That, and the GOP has 55 votes in the Senate come January 3, 2005, so the only hurdle will be getting out of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which will be another post altogether (stay tuned).
Remember, this isn’t a final thing just yet. Let’s wait and see how Rehnquist fares.