Donald Trump could appoint the first Asian American or Pacific Islander to serve on the US Supreme Court, though that’s unlikely to be the motivating factor should he make the historic selection.

Diversity didn’t seem to be a primary concern for the former president in filling judicial vacancies while in office. He appointed fewer members of minority groups to the federal bench than any of his immediate predecessors and he’s given little indication that would change in a second term.

Eighty-four percent of Trump’s 234 judicial appointments self-identified as White or Portuguese. But 13 self-identified as an Asian American or Pacific Islander, according to a Bloomberg Law analysis of Federal Judicial Center data. Of those, at least six appellate court judges are likely to be on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist regardless of their race, legal scholars and judicial experts said.

“He has certainly given himself a lot of candidates who would fit that label if that’s the way he wants to go,” said John P. Collins, an associate professor at The George Washington University Law School, whose research focuses on judicial nominations and court administration.

Potential Picks

Judge James Ho, a Taiwanese-born American Trump picked for the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in 2017, is expected to be a top contender for a Supreme Court seat if Trump is re-elected and he gets a vacancy to fill. Ho has made a name for himself as an outspoken member of the nation’s most conservative appeals court.

Off the bench, he’s jumped into fights over Columbia University’s handling of Israel-Hamas war protests and a perceived “cancel culture” at Yale and Stanford by announcing plans to boycott potential law clerks from those schools.

Ho, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas, is known for using provocative rhetoric to stake out his positions in opinions. He once accused his colleagues of using a “woke Constitution’’ to guide a decision he disagreed with.

Neomi Rao, an Indian American woman, is also expected to be one of Trump’s Supreme Court front-runners. Trump appointed Rao to the DC Circuit after she served for nearly two years in his administration as head of the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, which is tasked with reviewing and signing off on executive branch regulations.

“If he puts Neomi up there, then not only is it the first Asian, it’s the first Asian woman, and he’s created an all female majority Supreme Court,” said Tom Lee, Fordham Law School professor and co-director of its Center on Asian Americans and the Law. “That combination may be extremely attractive to him.”

Judge Patrick Bumatay on the Ninth Circuit is another potential short-lister who would give Trump two firsts on the Supreme Court as the first Asian and also first openly gay justice. Bumatay was the first Filipino American to serve on a federal appeals court following Trump’s nomination and the first openly gay judge to serve on the Ninth Circuit.

Judge Amul Thapar, who was the first Indian-American federal judge ever confirmed before Trump elevated him to the Sixth Circuit, is another Supreme Court prospect. Second Circuit Judge Michael Park, whose parents immigrated to the US from South Korea, and Ninth Circuit Judge Kenneth Lee, who was born in South Korea, are also likely to be on Trump’s Supreme Court shortlist.

Guided by Philosophy

Democrats including President Joe Biden have raised the prospect of two Supreme Court vacancies under the next president as a way to rally progressives to the polls.

The court’s leading conservative, Clarence Thomas, is the most senior member of the court and the oldest justice at 76. Court watchers say Justice Samuel Alito, 74, may choose to step aside to ensure he’s replaced by a like-minded jurist.

Trump told The Washington Times in May that he’s going to put together a list of about 20 judges who could be nominated to the Supreme Court. The Trump campaign didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment on the list or the timing of its release.

Judicial philosophy, rather than demographic considerations, is expected to guide the selection process if Trump is elected.

Trump wouldn’t use “failed leftist” diversity, equity, and inclusion policies to identify the next Supreme Court Justice, Phillip Jauregui, senior counsel of AFA Action, said in an email. AFA Action is the government affairs affiliate of American Family Association and describes itself as an organization working to advance biblical family values in society and government.

Still, Asian American candidates have already landed on a wish list put forward by the group.

Ho is on AFA Action’s short list of five recommended nominees. Morse Tan, a Korean-American who served as dean of Liberty University School of Law, was initially on the list in May but has since been removed. It’s not clear why. In an email, Jauregui said only that AFA Action’s Center for Judicial Renewal is actively researching and updating information on its website.

John Malcolm, a senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, said he can’t think of anyone who would be better for the Supreme Court than Thapar, Ho, or Rao

“Those three people would be at the top of my list,” Malcolm said.

There have been 75 federal judges confirmed who identify as Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander since the Clinton administration, according to Bloomberg Law’s data analysis.

“We’ve seen a great deal of progress and we’re so thankful for the progress that’s been made,” said Rahat Babar, deputy executive director and general counsel of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association.

“At the same time there’s still a lot of work to do,” he said, noting the absence of any Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, or Pacific Islanders on the Supreme Court.

Biden made diversity a priority in judicial appointments. About 62% of his 205 confirmations self-identified as either African American, American Indian, Hispanic, Korean, Cuban, Pakistani, Asian American, or Pacific Islander.

Harris Options

Eighteen percent of Biden’s nominations self-identified as an Asian American or Pacific Islander, giving Vice President Kamala Harris a deep pool to pick from if she were to win the White House and wanted to make history in selecting the first Asian American or Pacific Islander to the Supreme Court. At 70, Justice Sonia Sotomayor is the court’s third oldest justice and some progressives have called on her to retire before Biden leaves office to ensure she’s replaced by a Democratic appointee.

Harris’ potential high court candidates include Judge Lucy Koh, a Korean American on the Ninth Circuit, or Judge Florence Pan, a Chinese American on the DC Circuit, said David Lat, who publishes “Original Jurisdiction,” a newsletter and podcast about the law and legal profession. He also writes a column for Bloomberg Law.

Harris’ campaign didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Though NAPABA issued press releases applauding Ho, Rao, Bumatay, Thapar, Lee, and Park’s nominations to the federal appeals courts, Babar wouldn’t comment on whether the group would support Trump’s nomination of the first Asian American or Pacific Islander to the high court.

“This is the conundrum people found themselves in when Clarence Thomas was appointed,” said Rorie Solberg, an Oregon State University professor and associate director of political science, who studies diversity in judicial nominations.

“Do you support the diversity even if the person is going to be ideologically opposed to everything else you want?”

— with assistance from Tiana Headley.