WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (EST):
11:44 a.m.
The body of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court this week, with arrangements to allow for public viewing despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Ginsburg’s casket will be on public view Wednesday and Thursday under the portico at the top of the iconic steps in front of the building. A private ceremony will take place at the court on Wednesday morning.
House Speaker Nancy Pelsosi announced that Ginsburg will lie in state in the Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Friday. That ceremony will be open only to invited guests, Pelosi said.
Ginsburg will be buried next week at Arlington National Cemetery in a private service, the court said.
The justice died Friday at age 87.
Congress made similar arrangements for a public viewing outside the Capitol after Rep. John Lewis’ death in July.
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8:56 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he’s narrowed his list of candidates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to four or five candidates.
In a Monday interview with “Fox & Friends,” the president confirmed that among the top contenders are Indiana’s Amy Coney Barrett and Florida’s Barbara Lagoa, both appellate court judges he appointed. Trump also indicated that Allison Jones Rushing, a 38-year-old appellate judge from North Carolina, is also on the short-list.
Trump has promised to nominate a woman for the high court, adding that his preference is for someone younger who could hold sway on the nation’s jurisprudence for potentially four or five decades. Trump says he’ll aim to announce his pick on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ginsburg conclude.
Trump adds: “I think that would be good for the Republican Party and I think it would be good for everybody to get it over with.”
Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer.
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8:34 a.m.
President Donald Trump says he expects to announce his pick for the Supreme Court on Friday or Saturday, after funeral services for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
He told “Fox & Friends” on Monday that he had a list of five finalists, “probably four,” and that he is pushing for a confirmation vote before Election Day.
Trump disparaged reports that Ginsburg had told her granddaughter it was her wish that a replacement justice not be confirmed until the inauguration of a new president. Trump said he thought his Democratic political foes were behind the report, including Rep. Adam Schiff, who led the House impeachment probe, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer.
“I don’t know that she said that, or was that written out by Adam Schiff and Schumer and Pelosi,” Trump said. “I would be more inclined to the second … But that sounds like a Schumer deal or maybe a Pelosi or Shifty Schiff.” his nickname for the California congressman. Trump frequently disparages Schiff, without evidence as being behind a conspiracy against him.
Ginsburg, 87, died Friday of metastatic pancreatic cancer.