Trump to announce Supreme Court pick July 9; two women on short list

President Trump on Friday said he has narrowed his list of potential Supreme Court nominees to about five, including two women, and plans to announce his pick on July 9.

“I’ve got it narrowed to about five,” he told reporters on Air Force One en route to his New Jersey golf club, where he said he plans to interview one or two candidates this weekend.

Trump said he would interview six to seven candidates in total, saying, “I like them all.”

“We have great people,” Trump said of his short list. “Highly talented, brilliant, mostly conservative judges.” 

{mosads}

Trump’s comments are the latest sign he is moving rapidly to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, who announced his retirement this week. Kennedy’s retirement does not become official until July 31.

A July 9 announcement would come just before Trump leaves for a six-day trip to Europe and could set up a potential confirmation vote as early as the fall. 

The vacancy has given Trump an opportunity to solidify conservative control of the nation’s highest court.

Kennedy, 81, served as a swing vote on key immigration, abortion and gay rights cases. The president has said he wants to fill his seat with someone in the mold of his first Supreme Court pick, Neil Gorsuch, a staunch conservative jurist.

The president said he would not ask potential nominees about their position on Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 decision that gave women the right to an abortion.

“I’m not going to ask them that question,” he said. 

Trump did not offer up the five names on his short list, which he has said will be pulled from a list of 25 judges he first released during the 2016 campaign. But he did recognize Sen. Mike Lee’s (R-Utah) public acknowledgment he would not turn down the post. 

“He said he’d like the job, usually they don’t say that,” Trump said. 

Lee is on Trump’s initial list of possible Supreme Court picks.

Updated at 6:16 p.m.