President Donald Trump on Tuesday said he would fill a Supreme Court vacancy if one opened up in 2020, despite it being an election year.
“Absolutely, I’d do it,” Trump said in an interview with radio host Hugh Hewitt who asked him about the Supreme Court.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has been in and out of the hospital in recent weeks and confirmed in August her cancer had returned.
Trump has publicly wished Ginsburg well as she recovers, but her ongoing illness has raised questions about whether Republicans should fill the seat — even though Senate Republicans blocked former President Barack Obama from filling a vacant seat in 2016 on the grounds it was an election year.
McConnell drew rage from the left when he said in 2019 he would move to confirm a seat in an election year, should President Trump get the opportunity to nominate a replacement.
Trump added he would “move quickly” to fill the seat if there was a vacancy on the court, noting Democrats would do the same.
“Why not?” he asked. “I mean, they would. The Democrats would if they were in this position.”
Trump said he already had a Supreme Court candidate in mind, but did not say who it was.
“I have somebody that I think would be really well-received, would be excellent, highly-respected,” he said. “I mean, that’s subject to change, but somebody that really would be, I think, I think great.”