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WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump promised on Saturday to nominate a successor, likely a woman, to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg “very soon.”
“We will have a nominee very soon,” he told reporters in Washington, adding: “It is most likely a woman.”
Ginsburg, a progressive icon and a vocal opponent of Trump, died Friday at the age of 87.
His death gives the president a chance to tip the Supreme Court bench of nine justices solidly to the right over the next several decades with a 6-3 conservative majority.
“We want to respect the process and the process will move, I think it will actually move quickly,” Trump told reporters.
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Ginsburg’s death comes just weeks before the Nov. 3 presidential election, offering Republicans a chance to win a conservative majority in court.
Only two magistrates remain on the court: Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor, both progressives appointed by former President Barack Obama.
Trump told reporters that he would likely choose a female replacement.
“I think I could say that, it would be a woman. If someone asked me now, I would say that a woman would come first, yes, choosing a woman, I would say that it would certainly be appropriate.” he said.
