page_title: George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates
section_title: Harriet Miers nomination
hierarchical_section_title: George W. Bush Supreme Court candidates / Politics / Harriet Miers nomination
context_page_description: Speculation abounded over potential nominations to the Supreme Court of the United States by President George W. Bush since before his presidency.
  In the summer of 2005, this speculation became newsworthy due to the announcement of the retirement of Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor on July 1. President Bush announced federal appellate judge John Roberts as O'Connor's replacement on July 19.
  On September 5, two days after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist, Bush renominated Roberts as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States. He was confirmed by the United States Senate on September 29, 2005.
  On October 3, Bush nominated White House Counsel Harriet Miers to succeed O'Connor. However, Miers withdrew her nomination on October 27 after facing significant opposition.
  On October 31, Bush nominated another federal appellate judge, Samuel Alito, as his new choice to replace O'Connor. Alito was confirmed as the 110th Justice of the Supreme Court on January 31, 2006.
context_section_description: There was immediate and intense opposition to Miers' nomination, primarily from conservative Republicans. Principal complaints included:
  That her credentials under objective standards were not sufficient to qualify her for the position.
  That her nomination was the result of political cronyism. Because her legal career did not compare to those of other possible conservative female candidates (like federal appellate judges Edith Jones, Karen J. Williams, Priscilla Owen, and Janice Rogers Brown), many thought that President Bush probably nominated Miers for her personal loyalty to him rather than for her qualifications.
  That there was no written record to demonstrate that she was either a strict constructionist or originalist in her approach to constitutional interpretation. Some conservatives feared that she would support abortion rights, affirmative action and gay rights if ever confirmed to a seat on the Supreme Court.
  On the morning of Thursday, October 27, 2005, President Bush "reluctantly" accepted Miers's request to withdraw her nomination.
caption: President Bush introducing withdrawn nominee Harriet Miers.
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