Trump Says He Expects To Announce His Supreme Court Pick 'Next Week'

September 19, 2020 - NPR
Sam Gringlas

President Trump says he expects to announce a nominee to fill the Supreme Court vacancy left by Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death "next week" and the pick will likely be a woman.

"A choice of a woman would certainly be appropriate," he told reporters at the White House Saturday before leaving for a campaign rally in North Carolina.

"We want to respect the process," Trump said. "I think it's going to go very quickly, actually." He had previously tweeted that Republicans should move forward with a nominee "without delay."

Shortly after the court announced Ginsburg's death on Friday night, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he intended to bring the president's selection to a vote on the Senate floor.

Democrats have cried foul, saying there should not be a vote until after the election. They point to McConnell's decision in 2016 to stop then-President Barack Obama's nomination to fill the late Justice Antonin Scalia's seat on the court.