Trump to Announce Supreme Court Pick on Friday or Saturday
President Trump promised on Monday to unveil his nomination for Supreme Court justice this coming weekend, following funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
“We should wait for the services to be over for Justice Ginsburg” to make an announcement on the nomination, Trump told Fox and Friends on Monday. “So we’re looking at probably Friday or maybe Saturday.”
Trump’s top picks for the nomination have been narrowed down to two main candidates, people familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal. Those justices are Amy Coney Barrett, who currently sits on the Seventh Circuit Court in Chicago, and Barbara Lagoa of the Eleventh Circuit Court in Atlanta. Although Trump himself said Monday that five names remained on his short list.
In his statement to Fox, Trump also indicated that a 38-year-old judge was under consideration, presumably Allison Rushing of the Fourth Circuit Court in Richmond. Rushing is reportedly advocated by White House chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Various conservative groups have already begun attempting to sway the president in favor of one of the top picks, Barrett or Lagoa. Barrett, a former clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia, is popular among pro-life organizations and is seen as having stronger pro-life credentials than Lagoa, Politico reported.
However, Florida Republicans are pushing for Trump to nominate Lagoa, a Cuban-American originally from the Miami suburb of Hialeah. Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, and Representative Matt Gaetz, all Republican allies of Trump, believe that nominating Lagoa could help the president win Florida in the general election.
“If the president picks Barbara Lagoa, they will be dancing salsa with joy in Hialeah well past November,” Gaetz said.
