● Trump says no meeting is planned with Lagoa,

President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he does not have a meeting planned with Judge Barbara Lagoa, but she is on his list for a nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.

He said there were five women he was considering and he would announce the nominee on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the White House. “I think it will be a great nominee, brilliant nominee,” Trump said at a press conference. When asked whether he would be meeting with Lagoa, Trump said, “She is on my list, I don’t have a meeting planned, but she is on my list.”

The president had earlier this week suggested they might meet in Florida. But White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said in a statement Wednesday that “there are no plans to conduct interviews in Florida.”

“The entire process will be handled in Washington, D.C. as expeditiously as possible,” Meadows said. “Any suggestion of interviews with any candidate in other locations is not accurate.”

A source close to the White House vetting process said that a meeting in Washington remained a possibility but was unable to confirm Lagoa’s travel plans.

Speaking with reporters on Monday, Trump said of Lagoa: “She’s highly thought of and has got a lot of support. You know, a lot of people — I’m getting a lot of phone calls from a lot of people. She has a lot of support. I don’t know her, but I hear she’s outstanding. And she’s one of the people we’re looking at.”

The effort by Trump and the GOP-led Senate to confirm Ginsburg’s replacment before Election Day has created fierce objections from Democrats but they lack the votes to stop it.