Updated October 28, 2026, 5:58 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump has proposed nominating Ted Cruz to the Supreme Court for a future vacancy on the nation’s high court, joking that the Texas Republican senator’s confirmation would get unanimous support in the Senate because senators from both parties would like to see him go.
Trump, who had previously mentioned Cruz for the Supreme Court, proposed again a third term as senator during an Oct. 27 midterm campaign rally in Lubbock, Texas, as the president discussed what he might do if he were able to nominate a Supreme Court justice for the fourth time during his two terms in the White House.
“I said, ‘I have an answer to the problem of not being able to pass Democrats or Republicans together,'” Trump said, referring to the Senate confirmation fight. “I would choose Ted Cruz to be the next Supreme Court justice, and I wouldn’t have to worry about it. I wouldn’t have to make a phone call.
“The Democrats will 100% vote for this because they hate this guy and want to get rid of him,” Trump continued. “And the Republicans would vote 100 percent for it because they can’t stand him, they want to get rid of him. So I would get 100 percent of the vote, and he would be a Supreme Court justice and he would do a great job.”
Cruz, who was at the rally for Texas Republican Senate candidate Ken Paxton, laughed and smiled from his front-row seat as Trump gave the speech.
A staunch conservative in the Senate, Cruz has repeatedly said he is not interested in serving on the Supreme Court. “I don’t want to be a judge,” Cruz told the Houston Chronicle in September.
Trump has openly expressed regret over nominating each of his three Supreme Court nominees in his first term — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — after they sided with his administration in a series of high-profile decisions.
Trump called Cruz “a brilliant guy, a brilliant lawyer, brilliant all that stuff.” As Texas solicitor general from 2008 to 2013, Cruz argued several cases before the Supreme Court. After graduating from Harvard Law School, Cruz worked under then-Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
Cruz, 55, became one of Trump’s staunchest allies in the Senate after running against Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.
Cruz has also made no secret of his interest in running for president in 2028. Other Trump allies, Vice President JD Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio, are also seen as likely contenders for the Republican nomination. If Trump were to nominate Cruz to the Supreme Court, the field of possibilities would begin to narrow.
It is not yet clear whether Trump will have the opportunity to appoint a fourth justice to the Supreme Court. Justice Samuel Alito said in August that he planned to remain on the bench at least until the next session, denying speculation that the conservative justice might resign to allow Trump to choose his replacement.
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