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WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Wednesday that he believes the 2020 elections will end in the United States Supreme Court, adding that this is why it was important to have nine justices.
Trump, speaking at an event at the White House, said Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham, who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, would not even have to hold a hearing for the Supreme Court nominee and that the process would go fast.
“I think this will end up in the Supreme Court and I think it’s very important that we have nine justices,” Trump said when asked if a full complement of justices was needed to handle any potential challenges to the November 3 election between him and Democrat Joe Biden.
Trump has questioned the integrity of the election, saying without evidence that the use of vote-by-mail during the coronavirus pandemic would lead to fraud.
“This scam that the Democrats are doing is a scam, the scam will be before the Supreme Court of the United States, and I think that having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation,” he said.
Only one US presidential election, the 2000 contest between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, has had its outcome determined by the Supreme Court.
Trump is moving quickly to nominate a successor to liberal Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on Friday, and his fellow Senate Republicans say they could hold a vote before the election. That would seal a 6-3 conservative majority on the court.
Trump has said he will announce his choice from a group of five women on Saturday.
On Monday, she met at the White House with Judge Amy Coney Barrett of the Chicago-based United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, who is considered one of the leading candidates for the position.
When asked about meeting with Judge Barbara Lagoa of the Atlanta-based US Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, Trump told reporters Wednesday: “I don’t have a meeting planned, but she’s in my list”.
Trump has already appointed two conservatives to court, Neil Gorsuch in 2017 and Brett Kavanaugh in 2018. Supreme Court appointments, which are for life terms, require Senate confirmation. Trump’s fellow Republicans hold 53 of the 100 seats in the chamber.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he intends to act on any nominations Trump makes. – Reuters
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