Who will Trump pick to replace RBG on Supreme Court? Here are some possibilities

President Donald Trump said he’ll name a nominee this week to fill Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat after her passing on Friday — an indication that Republicans will try to make good on their vow to vote on her replacement.

Trump issued a new list of 20 potential Supreme Court nominees on Sept. 9, including Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Ted Cruz of Texas and Josh Hawley of Missouri.

The list has become a subject of interest after Ginsburg’s death. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on Friday the Senate will vote on Trump’s nominee, The New York Times reported.

Ginsburg, a member of the Supreme Court’s liberal wing, died on Friday at the age of 87 after suffering from pancreatic cancer. Her death leaves the court with a 5-3 conservative majority and gives Trump the opportunity to further reshape the high court.

Trump said during a “Fox and Friends” interview on Monday that his list of potential nominees has been narrowed down to five people and he’ll name his pick on Friday or Saturday.

“I think it will be on Friday or Saturday and we want to pay respect, it looks like we will have services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it, and I think we should, with all due respect for Justice Ginsburg, wait for services to be over,” Trump said.

Democrats, including 2020 presidential nominee Joe Biden, implored Senate Republicans to wait until after the election to fill Ginsburg’s seat, citing the run-up to the 2016 election, ABC News reported.

McConnell and Senate Republicans blocked President Barack Obama from appointing Merrick Garland to fill Antonin Scalia’s seat in 2016.

Garland never received a confirmation hearing. At the time, McConnell said Scalia’s death, which happened Feb. 2016, was too close to an election and that voters should decide who fills the seat, leaving a vacancy for ten months under Obama. “We believe that the American people should seize the opportunity to weigh in on whom they trust to nominate the next person for a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court,” the Republican majority leader and U.S. Sen. Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wrote in The Washington Post.

But now, less than two months from Election Day, McConnell is saying that rule doesn’t apply this year because both the White House and Senate are controlled by the same party, drawing backlash from Democrats and President Obama.

Here’s who is on Trump’s shortlist — and the potential political implications from their appointments.

Amy Coney Barrett

Judges Amy Coney Barrett, Barbara Lagoa and Allison Jones Rushing are front-runners to be Trump’s Supreme Court pick, Fox News reported.

Trump vowed during a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina, on Saturday that he would pick a woman to fill Ginsburg’s seat, CNN reported.

“It will be a woman, a very talented, very brilliant woman,” Trump said. “I haven’t chosen yet, but we have numerous women on the list.”

Barrett was a finalist for Trump’s second Supreme Court nomination, which went to Brett Kavanaugh, NPR reported. Barrett is on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, and if confirmed, would be the justice with the least experience in the courtroom, according to The New York Times.

Barrett has been heralded by anti-abortion activists and condemned by liberal groups, who are concerned her appointment could threaten Roe v. Wade — a 1973 decision that legalized abortion — and the Affordable Care Act, which expanded health coverage to millions of Americans including those with preexisting conditions.

“Amy Coney Barrett meets Donald Trump’s two main litmus tests: She has made clear she would invalidate the A.C.A. and take health care away from millions of people and undermine a woman’s reproductive freedom,” Nan Aron, the president of Alliance for Justice, a liberal group, told The New York Times.

Barbara Lagoa

Lagoa was appointed by Trump to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit in 2019, CNN reported. She’s the first Hispanic woman and Cuban American woman on Florida’s Supreme Court, and if appointed, she would be the second Latina Supreme Court justice, joining Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who was appointed by President Obama, according to the publication.

Trump said Saturday Lagoa was “an extraordinary person,” CNN reported.

“I’ve heard incredible things about her. I don’t know her. She’s Hispanic and highly respected. Miami,” Trump said.

Lagoa has previously “sided with business groups challenging a decision by the city of Miami Beach to raise its minimum wage” and “upheld a law requiring people with past felony convictions to pay outstanding court fees, fines and restitution before regaining the right to vote,” according to U.S. News & World Report.

Lagoa makes Trump’s shortlist as the president is focusing on Florida, a swing state considered pivotal in the election, The Washington Post reported.

“She is a Cuban woman from Miami, and Florida is the most important state in the election,” said Jesse Panuccio, former acting associate attorney general under Trump and member of the Florida Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, according to the publication.

Allison Jones Rushing

Rushing serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit and is favored among evangelical groups, CNN reported. Born in 1982, Rushing could potentially sit on the nation’s highest court for decades.

Rushing has been criticized by Democrats for her connections to Alliance Defending Freedom, a conservative Christian nonprofit where Rushing interned and spoke at events, according to CNN. ADF advocates for “the sanctity of human life, freedom of speech, and marriage and family.”

The Southern Poverty Law Center calls ADF a “hate group” with anti-LGBT views.

“Her record clearly shows she will not be a fair and independent judge — a reality with dire consequences for Fourth Circuit cases and the American people,” Vanita Gupta, president and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, said in a statement in March 2019.

Kate Todd

Todd, deputy assistant and deputy counsel to the president, is being considered, NPR reported.

Todd was chief counsel of the United States Chamber Litigation Center and clerked for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, a conservative judge, according to PBS News. Her name was included on Trump’s latest list of nominees.

Amul Thapar

Thapar serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit and has been championed by McConnell after getting involved in Kentucky politics, the Courier Journal reported. If nominated, Thapar would be the first Asian-American Supreme Court justice.

Thapar was also a finalist in 2018 to replace former Justice Anthony Kennedy when he retired, , according to the publication.

Conservatives have expressed their reservations because Thapar hasn’t written about abortion, Courier Journal reported.