Ted Cruz says he doesn’t want to join the Supreme Court after being shortlisted by Trump

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U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is making clear that he's not interested in serving on the U.S. Supreme Court, despite President Donald Trump recently naming him to a group of potential nominees.

When Trump announced Cruz as part of the 20-name list Wednesday, the senator issued a statement suggesting he was satisfied with remaining in Congress. He more explicitly said he wasn't interested during a Fox News interview Sunday.

"Do you want the job?" host Maria Bartiromo asked.

“I don’t," Cruz responded. "It is deeply honoring, it’s humbling to be included in the list … but it’s not the desire of my heart. I want to be in the political fight."

Cruz, the former solicitor general of Texas, has been mentioned before as a possible Supreme Court pick, and he's given a similar answer. He also said in 2016 that serving on the high court was "not the desire of my heart."

Trump also named a second Texan, James Ho, to his list of potential Supreme Court picks. Ho is a judge on the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and former Texas solicitor general.

Cruz has written a book about the Supreme Court that is due out Oct. 6. Cruz promoted the book Monday as part of a tweet where he said Democrats were trying to “steal” the presidential race, responding to the newly reported formation of a legal operation focused on ensuring the integrity of the November election.