UNITED STATES—On Tuesday, September 22, President Trump tweeted that he’ll announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Saturday, September 26 at the White House.
The seat on the Supreme Court was vacated after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on September 18 following cancer complications.
Justice Ginsburg will lie in state in the United States Capitol on Friday, September 25. This distinction has not been bestowed since the death of William Howard Taft, who served as chief justice from 1921 to 1930. It has also never been granted to a woman.
President Trump has stated that he will wait for her services to be over, then he will make the announcement.
Trump also said that he will nominate a woman to the high court. He added that he had narrowed his choices down to five potential nominees, and indicated that he was also looking at 11th Circuit Judge Barbara Lagoa as a possibility.
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah affirmed that he will vote on Trump’s pick if the nomination reaches the Senate floor.
In a statement, he said, “The Constitution gives the President the power to nominate and the Senate the authority to provide advice and consent on Supreme Court nominees. Accordingly, I intend to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the President’s nominee. If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications.”
“The nominee is going to be supported by every Republican in the Judiciary Committee. We’ve got the votes to confirm the justice on the floor of the Senate before the election and that’s what’s coming,” said Chairman of the Senate Committee Lindsey Graham of South Carolina to Fox News.
Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate and will be able to confirm a justice by a simple majority.
