Trump promises to replace Ginsburg with a woman - and soon

President Donald Trump is promising to put forth a female minee in coming week to fill Supreme Court vacancy created by death of Justice Ruth Ber Ginsburg, pushing Republican-controlled Senate to consider pick without delay.

Taking st Saturday night at a rth Carolina rally to chants of “Fill that seat,” president said he would minate his selection despite Democrats' objections. And, after conducting what he joked was a “very scientific poll" of Fayetteville crowd as to wher supporters wanted a man or a woman, he declared choice would be “a very talented, very brilliant woman."

He ded that he did t yet kw whom he would choose.

“We win an election and those are consequences,” said president, who n seemed to signal that he'd be willing to accept a vote on his minee during lame-duck period after election. “We have a lot of time. We have plenty of time. We're talking about January 20th."

But one Republican senator h alrey broken ranks. Maine’s Susan Collins, who is in a tough reelection battle, said earlier Saturday that she believed replacing Ginsburg should be decision of president who is elected v. 3. Three more defections from GOP ranks would be needed to stop Trump’s minee from joining court.

At stake is a seat held by a justice who was a champion of women's rights and spent her final years on bench as unquestioned leer of court’s liberal wing. Senate Majority Leer Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. vowed to call a vote for Trump’s minee, but Democrats countered that Republicans should follow precedent that GOP legislators set in 2016 by refusing to consider a Supreme Court choice in run-up to an election.

impending clash over vacant seat — when to fill it and with whom — scrambles stretch run of a presidential race for a nation alrey reeling from pandemic that has killed nearly 200,000 people, left millions unemployed and heightened partisan tensions and anger.

McConnell pledged to Trump in a phone call Friday night to bring choice to a vote though he has t said if it would be before election.

Democratic presidential minee Joe Biden said any selection should come after v. 3. “Voters should pick president and president should pick justice to consider,” he said. Biden has promised to minate a Black woman to high court if given chance, but he has said he will t release names of possible minees before election.

Trump this month ded 20 more names to his roster of potential court minees, and aides in recent days have focused on a short list heavy on female candidates, according to four White House aides and officials close to process. y spoke on condition of anymity because y were t authorized to publicly discuss private conversations.

Those under close consideration for high court include three women who are federal appeals court judges: Amy Coney Barrett, beloved among conservatives and an early favorite; Barbara Lagoa, who is Hispanic and comes from battleground state of Florida; and Allison Jones Rushing, who clerked for Justice Clarence Thomas and for Neil Gorsuch, when current Trump-appointed justice was an appeals court judge.

At least one man, appeals court Judge Amul Thapar, has also been under consideration. A McConnell ally from Kentucky, he has been screened by Trump’s team for past openings and he would be first Asian American on high court.

McConnell, who sets calendar in Senate and has me judicial appointments his priority, declared unequivocally in a statement that Trump’s minee would receive a confirmation vote. In 2016, McConnell refused to consider President Barack Obama’s minee months before election, eventually preventing a vote on Judge Merrick Garland.

Senate Democratic leer Chuck Schumer of New York convened a conference call with Democratic senators at midday Saturday, according to a person on private call who was t authorized to discuss it publicly and spoke on condition of anymity. He told senators “. 1 goal” must be to communicate stakes of confirmation vote.

Schumer also warned that if Republicans push through minee, “thing is off table” for Senate rules changes to come, person said.

Ginsburg’s death seemed certain to stoke enthusiasm in both political parties as election could w be viewed as referendum on high court’s decisions, including future of abortion rights. Democrats raised more than $71 million in hours after Ginsburg’s death, indicating her passing has alrey galvanized party’s base.

Hundreds of mourners gared for a second night outside Supreme Court building, holding candles in hor of Ginsburg and listening to a succession of testimonies and rallying speeches. Among speakers was Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who eulogized Ginsberg as “an icon, a trailblazer and a friend" and accused McConnell of seeking to cynically hijack confirmation process.

“Today Mitch McConnell and his henchmen think y can ram through a Supreme Court justice only 45 days before election,” Warren said. “What Mitch McConnell doesn’t understand is that fight has just begun.”

A confirmation vote in Senate is t guaranteed, even with a Republican majority.

McConnell has launched a risky, unprecedented strategy. It could motivate conservative voters to rally behind Trump and GOP senators or it could push away moderates who prefer to see Senate stick to rms or are fearful of a right-leaning court stripping away women’s right to choose an abortion.

Typically, it takes several months to vet and hold hearings on a Supreme Court minee, and time is short before vember. Key senators may be reluctant to cast votes so close to election. With a slim GOP majority, 53 seats in 100-member chamber, Trump’s choice could afford to lose only a few.

McConnell did t specify timing. But trying for confirmation in a lame-duck session after v. 3 election, if Trump h lost to Biden or Republicans h lost Senate, would carry furr political complications.

Democrats immediately deunced McConnell’s move as hypocritical, pointing out that he refused to call hearings for Garland 237 days before 2016 election. 2020 election is 46 days away.

aver number of days to confirm a justice, according to Congressional Research Service, is 69, which would be after election. But some Republicans quickly ted that Ginsburg was confirmed in just 42 days. Obama waited more than a month to minate Garland after Justice Antonin Scalia died in February 2016.

John Fischetti, who waited in line more than two hours to enter Trump’s Fayetteville rally, said replacing Ginsburg would inflame tensions but was within president’s rights.

“I would assume it would make everyone more energized,” Fischetti said of political repercussions. “Trump’s people want him to always press forward.”

Four GOP defections could defeat a mination, while a tie vote could be broken by Vice President Mike Pence. After Collins’ decision, focus grew on Sens. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitt Romney of Utah, who have been critical of Trump and protective of institution of Senate.

And because Arizona Senate race is a special election, that seat could be filled as early as v. 30 — which would narrow window for McConnell if Democratic candidate, Mark Kelly, wins.

next pick could shape important decisions beyond abortion rights, including any legal challenges that may stem from 2020 election. In interim, if court were to take cases with eight justices, 4-4 ties would revert decision to a lower court; for instance, Affordable Care Act could n be struck down by a lower Texas court.