President Donald Trump announced Tuesday morning via social media that he will be announcing his Supreme Court nominee on Saturday at the White House.
“I will be announcing my Supreme Court Nominee on Saturday, at the White House! Exact time TBA," Trump tweeted.
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The President is seeking to fill the vacancy left by liberal Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died Friday after a battle with cancer.
Once a President nominates a justice candidate, that candidate then must make statements and answer questions before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The committee then can vote to send the nomination to the full United States Senate where the nominee can be appointed by vote. Right now, the Senate is controlled by a Republican majority.
On Monday, Trump held rallies in Vandalia and Swanton, Ohio. He said the nation was mourning the death of the 87-year-old Ginsburg and he pointed out that more than 200 judges have been appointed to the federal bench during his term.
“Some presidents never get any — they last a long time,” Trump said of Supreme Court appointments. “We’ve had three. It’s blowing their minds.”
Trump said he was considering five women for the lifetime appointment to America’s highest court.
Potential nominees include federal appellate judges Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa.
Kamala Harris is poised to become a leading figure in the Democratic opposition to Trump’s Supreme Court pick, the Associated Press reported.
Meanwhile, the body of Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week.
Trump has already appointed Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. Trump got to appoint Gorsuch in 2017 after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused in 2016 to hold a hearing on President Barack Obama’s nominee to replace Antonin Scalia, saying it was an election year.
Scalia died 237 days before the 2016 election. Ginsburg died 46 days before the 2020 election.
Read back: Flashpoint 2/14/16: Addressing the death of Justice Scalia