President Donald Trump said Monday he will announce his Supreme Court pick at the end of this week.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump said Monday that he will announce his Supreme Court pick at the end of this week because he wants to wait until after events take place for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“I will announce it either Friday or Saturday, and then the work begins,” Trump said during an interview on the morning show “Fox & Friends.”
Trump also said he wants to see a confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election, telling Fox News that “we have a lot of time.”
The decision will likely trigger a political firestorm in the heat of Trump’s election battle with Democrat Joe Biden, and both parties have pledged to make the future of the high court a major campaign issue.
Trump said he is considering four or five women for the high court slot, but aides and advisers have said that two top the list: appeals court Judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa.
Asked specifically about Lagoa, Trump said that “she’s excellent. She’s Hispanic . ... I don’t know her. Florida; we love Florida. So, she’s got a lot of things. Very smart.”
Trump made an apparent reference to Barrett by citing her home state of Indiana, which he said is “represented very well” in the selection process.
Senate Democrats have said they will try to block the nominee, arguing that the winner of the upcoming November election should have the right to make the lifetime appointment – an argument Republicans used when a high court vacancy happened nearly nine months before the 2016 presidential election.
It’s uncertain whether Senate Republican leaders have enough votes to move forward with any nomination.
In addition to Barrett and Lagoa, aides said other possibilities include Allison Rushing, a North Carolina-based judge on the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, and Kate Todd, who works in the White House counsel’s office.
Trump told Fox he is also considering “a great one from Michigan,” apparently a reference to appeals court Judge Joan Larsen.
The president said the Supreme Court issue would be good for Republican senators facing tough reelection battles.
Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have said there should not be a Supreme Court nomination vote in the middle of an election.
There will be memorials and services for Ginsburg early in the week, delaying Trump’s announcement of a nominee.
Trump and some Republicans see the opening as a historic opportunity for conservatives to consolidate control of the Supreme Court. There are currently five conservatives on the nine-member court.
If Republicans follow through, Democrats have vowed retaliation should they win control of the Senate in the November elections. Some lawmakers have talked about increasing the size of the Supreme Court and ending the right of the minority to filibuster legislation. If there were more seats on the court, a future Democratic president could potentially have a chance to tilt the court back in a more liberal direction.