Trump to Announce His Supreme Court Pick This Weekend
President Donald Trump said that he will be announcing his pick for the Supreme Court probably this weekend.
Could have been earlier but Trump wanted to wait until the memorial services for the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg are done.
Ginsburg passed away on Friday, September 18 due to pancreatic cancer. She was 87 years old.
Trump discussed it during an interview on "Fox & Friends."
According to the U.S. president, he is considering four or five women to take the high court seat vacated by Ginsburg.
The two women who top Trump's list are appeals court judges Barbara Lagoa and Amy Coney Barrett.
Trump described Lagoa as someone excellent and that she comes from a politically important state-Florida.
The 52-year-old federal appellate court judge is a Cuban American who was born in Miami.
Barrett, on the other hand, was a runner-up to Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh whom the president nominated in 2018.
Trump had said that he wants a confirmation vote before the November 3 general election wherein he is running for re-election.
He added that the final vote should be done before the presidential election as there is still plenty of time.
The Democrats, however, had vowed to block Trump's replacement for Ginsburg because they wanted the Supreme Court seat to be left open until after the election.
They argued that the lifetime appointment should be done by whoever is victorious on November 3. This is the same argument that the Republicans used back in 2016 when a Supreme Court seat also became vacant just before the election. They had blocked Barack Obama's nominee.
Trump also said during his interview that the Supreme Court issue would be good for Republicans who are seeking re-election.
Not all Republican officials, however, agree with the president as Senators Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska have said that there should no Supreme Court nomination vote in the middle of an election.
Trump's supporters have also waded in on the issue. During the Saturday rally in North Carolina, they had chanted "Fill That Seat!"
Trump's campaign is now printing the phrase on T-shirts that they are selling on their website.
There is also the matter of Ginsburg's dying wish which was revealed by her family.
They said that Ginsburg had dictated a statement to her granddaughter that she fervently wishes that she will not be replaced until after a new president is elected.
Trump, however, has casted doubt on Ginsburg's dying wish. He added that it sounded like something that would be written by Representative Nancy Pelosi or Adam Schiff or Chuck Schumer.
Schiff had denied Trump's statement on social media and vowed that he would fight to make Ginsburg's dying wish come true.
Schumer, for his part, said that he would also lead efforts to defeat the president's nomination.
Pelosi, on the other hand, is not ruling out impeaching Trump just to delay the Supreme Court nomination.
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