Trump's Supreme Court Nominee Will Be a Woman

(Photo : by Melissa Sue Gerrits/Getty Images)
U.S. President Donald Trump leaves to cheers from a crowd during a Make America Great Again campaign rally on September 19, 2020 in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

President Trump said his Supreme Court nominee to replace late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg would likely be a woman.

He said this to reporters at the White House when asked about his Supreme Court nominee.

"If somebody were to ask me now, I would say that a woman would be in the first place," he said. Later in the day, his choice became more certainly worded.

"It will be a woman," he told supporters at a Trump campaign rally on Saturday evening.

Trump said he would announce his Supreme Court nominee within the next week.

Just 24 hours after Ginsburg's death, Trump held his rally in front of a crowd in North Carolina. According to USA Today, he told supporters, "we're going to fill the seat."

Ginsburg, one of the court's liberal justices, died Friday after announcing she suffered a recurrence of cancer. She was also found to have lesions on her liver.

According to CNN, Trump told those at the rally that Ginsburg has "landmark rulings" and "fierce devotion to justice." He added that Ginsburg's battle against cancer was an inspiration to all Americans.

He offered prayers to the justice's family.

Potential Trump Nominees

In a Fox News report, it was said that Trump had had a shortlist of nominees for a while. He believed choosing a woman for the position would "certainly be appropriate."

According to The Hill, Judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa were among those seriously considered by Trump.

Others who are getting consideration are Judges Amul Thapar and Allison Jones Rushing.

Trump nominated these four judges to their current positions on the federal appellate bench.

When asked about Barrett on Saturday, Trump said she was "very highly respected." He also described Lagoa as "an extraordinary person" who's done "incredible things" from what he's heard.

He did not, though, that he has not met her yet. He also noted that she is Hispanic.

Supreme Court Nominee Announcement Timeline

When Trump was asked when he thinks a new justice should be named, he said, "before would be good before or after the election."

Trump noted that the White House is still working with Republican senators on the timeline. He said he is on board with a fast-track plan outlined by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Trump said he thinks the process and have a new Supreme Court justice "can go very, very fast," adding that he will be making his choice soon.

He also disagreed with Sen. Susan Collins, who issued a statement saying the upper should not vote on a new justice before the election. She argued that the successor to Ginsburg should be selected by whoever wins the election.

"We have an obligation," Trump said. He said it was an obligation to pick the next justice.

The vacancy started an immediate fight over Ginsburg's successor because the vacancy gives the GOP a rare chance to grant conservative control of the court. The pick can even last for decades to come.

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