Speculation is building that Amy Coney Barrett will be President Trump’s selection for the Supreme Court vacancy.
Sources told the New York Times that Trump plans to announce Saturday afternoon that the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge will be his third nominee to the high court, but they stressed caution because the president has a history of changing his mind at the last minute. CNN first reported that Barrett’s nomination was imminent and she was Trump’s favorite from the start.
“She was the plan all along,” the official told CNN. “She’s the most distinguished and qualified by traditional measures. She has the strongest support among the legal conservatives who have dedicated their lives to the court. She will contribute most to the court’s jurisprudence in the years and decades to come.”
A White House representative said, “No comment,” when asked about the reporting. Trump told reporters in the evening that he has made a decision “in my own mind,” according to a press pool report.
Told that Barrett was reported to be his pick, the president replied, “I haven’t said it was her, but she is outstanding.” He also said all the candidates under consideration are “all great.”
When Trump selected Brett Kavanaugh in 2018 to fill the vacancy from retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, he said of Barrett, “I’m saving her for Ruth’s seat,” a Republican Senate staffer told the Washington Examiner.
A senior administration official also told the Washington Examiner that Barrett, who visited the White House and met with Trump this week, is well-liked by the president and by many in the White House, with support from Vice President Mike Pence and chief of staff Mark Meadows.
Barrett’s selection would confirm speculation by some top Republicans, including Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham, who has told Republican senators he is confident that Trump is picking Barrett, according to a Republican staffer familiar with the matter.
“I’m pretty sure it’s ACB, and I’m pretty sure it’s ACB because Lindsey Graham is saying it’s ACB,” the Capitol Hill source said.
Graham’s office said they haven’t been told who Trump is picking. “We haven’t been told who he is nominating,” Graham spokesperson Kevin Bishop told the Washington Examiner.
Trump was considering a group of women, including 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Barbara Lagoa, and the president is expected to announce his selection Saturday at 5 p.m. Trump has a campaign event in Newport News, Virginia, set for 9 p.m. Friday evening.
The selection to replace late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will be sent to the Senate, where confirmation could prove difficult depending on the decision of a few Republican senators. If there is sufficient support among the GOP, however, Democrats will have little power to stop the nomination process.
Another Republican source told the Washington Examiner that Trump “saw the way that Amy Coney Barrett was mistreated” last time and is likely “spoiling for a fight.”
