UPDATED: Granholm in D.C., possibly for nomination talk

Curt Levey of the Committee for Justice, a conservative group that lobbies on judicial nominations, writes on their blog that Granholm flew to Washington DC last night (other sources now confirm that she will be at the White House on Tuesday, but they say it’s for an unrelated event) and they speculate that it might be for an announcement of her nomination to the Supreme Court:

CFJ has learned from a reliable source that Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, reportedly on President Obama’s Supreme Court short list, boarded a flight from Detroit to Washington DC, last night. If Granholm is coming to DC for an announcement of her nomination to the Court, we’ll know as soon as this morning. If she’s coming to DC to interview for the job, it serves as confirmation that she is on the short list.

It’s more likely just an interview for the job, I would think. That she is on the short list has already been widely reported, but I still think she’s a long shot to actually get the nomination.

Levey also talks about some of the problems that a Granholm nomination might run into, essentially rehearsing the arguments that opponents might use against her. He thinks her support of gay marriage and being pro-choice on abortion would be used against her, but that’s going to be true of most any candidate that gets sent up. Those are issues that will help raise funds for conservative opposition groups, but they aren’t likely to actually impede a nomination given the Democrats’ control of the Senate.

Levey also thinks that Granholm’s lack of judicial experience or scholarly track record “may actually work in her favor by giving critics less material with which to evaluate her judicial reasoning.”

More problematic, according to Levey, might be her prior tax problems (though they are minor and were quickly cleared up, the Obama administration might be scared away based on similar problems with previous nominees to various posts) and an old scandal about her husband receiving contracts from Wayne County:

Close behind on the trouble meter are scandals involving Granholm’s tenure as Corporation Counsel for Wayne County, Michigan. In 2002, Granholm came under fire after firms owned by her husband, Daniel Mulhern, secured contracts from Wayne County shortly after Granholm’s tenure as county counsel ended. “Five of the agreements were no-bid contracts and the sixth was awarded through a process in which Mulhern’s firm submitted the highest bid but won the contract anyway,” reports the Macom (sic) Daily. The other bids ranged in price from half to less than a quarter of Mulhern’s bid. The Daily reports that the 4-member team scoring the bids included Granholm’s campaign manager and another Granholm campaign contributor.

He also cites our story about John Conyers withdrawing support for her nomination.

Updated: Our sister site, the Washington Independent, reports that Granholm may be at the White House tomorrow for announcement of new CAFE standards for the auto industry.