Trump says his nomination for Supreme Court 'will be a very talented, very brilliant woman' because he likes them 'much more than I like men' as he calls Hispanic judge Barbara Lagoa an 'extraordinary person' and praises Amy Coney Barrett
President Donald Trump on Saturday announced that his Supreme Court nominee to fill the vacancy caused by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death will be a 'very talented, very brilliant woman' because 'I like women more than I like men'.
During a campaign rally in North Carolina on Saturday night that Trump branded a 'protest', he declared 'I will be putting forth a nominee this week, it will be a woman'.
Before he left the White House for the rally, Trump had named two conservative women who he has elevated to federal appeals courts as contenders, a move that would tip the court further to the right.
Trump, who now has a chance to nominate a third justice to a lifetime appointment on the court, named Amy Coney Barrett, 48, of the Chicago-based 7th Circuit and Barbara Lagoa, 52, of the Atlanta-based 11th Circuit as possible nominees.
He praised Lagoa, in particular, as an 'extraordinary person'.
According to CNN, a source said that the announcement of the nomination could depend on when Ginsburg's burial takes place.
President Trump said Saturday his Supreme Court nominee is most likely to be a woman
'I have a shortlist, I've had a shortlist for a while. We added a number of people onto the list, the previous list, we have about 45 altogether. I do indeed have a short list,' Trump answered to a reporter's question before he left the White House by plane
'I've gotten to know many of them. I think it's probably, from a legal standpoint, from a sophisticated understanding of the law, from a constitutional standpoint, I think it's probably the greatest list ever assembled and I think that the other side should show their radical left list and you'd be surprised,' Trump added.
During his rally, as the crowd chanted 'Fill the Seat', Trump promised 'that's what we're going to do, we're going to fill the seat'.
He added that the constitution states: 'The president shall nominate Justices of the Supreme Court, I don't think it can be any more clear, can it?'
Trump claimed that despite the tight deadline before voters cast their ballots on November 3, there was still enough time for the Senate review process on a nomination to take place.
'Twenty-nine times a vacancy opened during an election year and every single time the sitting president made a nomination. That included George Washington, Thomas Jefferson or perhaps you've heard of him, the great Abraham Lincoln.
'Twenty-nine times, every single time, nobody said 'let's not fill the seat'.
'We have plenty of time,' he added.
Earlier in the day, when pushed about whether the nominee would be a woman, the president answered: 'I could see most likely it would be a woman I think I can say that. If somebody were to ask me now I would say that a woman would be in first place. The choice of a woman would be appropriate.'
Even before Ginsburg's death, Trump had made public a list of potential nominees.
Barrett has generated perhaps the most interest in conservative circles. A devout Roman Catholic, she was a legal scholar at Notre Dame Law School in Indiana before Trump appointed her to the 7th Circuit in 2017.
A Barrett nomination would likely ignite controversy, as her strong conservative religious views have prompted abortion-rights groups to say that if confirmed by the U.S. Senate, she would likely vote to overturn the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion nationwide.
When questioned about her Saturday evening, Trump said: 'She's very highly respected, I can say that.'
Amy Coney Barrett is among the frontrunners. She has generated perhaps the most interest in conservative circles. A devout Roman Catholic, she was a legal scholar at Notre Dame Law School in Indiana before Trump appointed her to the 7th Circuit in 2017
Trump praised Hispanic judge Barbara Lagoa as an 'extraordinary person'
Lagoa has served on the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for less than a year after being appointed by Trump and confirmed by the Senate on an 80-15 vote. Prior to that she also spent less than a year in her previous position as the first Latina to serve on the Florida Supreme Court.
She previously spent more than a decade as a judge on an intermediate appeals court in Florida.
'She's an extraordinary person, I've heard incredible things about her. She's Hispanic and highly respected,' Trump said of Lagoa.
Another candidate Trump has considered previously is Amul Thapar. He was a district court judge in Kentucky - the first federal judge of South Asian descent - before Trump appointed him to the Cincinnati-based 6th Circuit in 2017.
Ginsburg's death on Friday from cancer after 27 years on the court handed Trump, who is seeking re-election on November 3, the opportunity to expand its conservative majority to 6-3 at a time of a gaping political divide in America.
Conservative activists for years have sought to get enough votes on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe v. Wade. During the 2016 campaign, Trump promised to appoint justices who would overturn that decision.
But the court in July, even with its conservative majority, struck down a restrictive Louisiana abortion law on a 5-4 vote.
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