Donald Trump Reveals His Pick for Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Replacement Will Be Announced Later This Week

President Donald Trump has vowed to unveil his replacement for late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg by the end of the week amid the surmounting controversy surrounding the vacancy. Speaking on Fox & Friends Monday, the president revealed that he will make his announcement at the end of the week after services for the late Supreme Court justice are held. He said that the announcement will likely come either Friday or Saturday, as “we want to pay respect.”

Trump has narrowed his list of potential Supreme Court nominees to five people, he revealed, among them Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa. Judge Allison Jones Rushing of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit is also said to be on this list. Trump, speaking Monday, called his list of potential picks “excellent,” stating that they are “all very smart.” He added that “no matter how you would look at it, these are the finest people in the nation — young people, pretty young for the most part, adding, “you like to go young, because they’re there for a long time.”

Currently, CNN reports that Barrett is believed to be the leading candidate, as she is deemed the safest amid the upcoming election. Barrett was Trump’s pick for a seat on the 7th US Circuit Court of Appeals and had also been considered for the 2018 Supreme Court vacancy. Although Brett Kavanaugh earned that nomination, Barrett’s advocates were reportedly told by White House officials that she remained in the running for another vacancy and there has long been a belief that Trump would nominate her to replace a female justice like Ginsburg.

Ginsburg passed away Friday following a battle with pancreatic cancer. Having served 27 years on the Supreme Court, Ginsburg was aware of the impact her death would have, reportedly telling her granddaughter Clara Spera just days before her death, “My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed.” Although Trump and his fellow Republicans are signaling that they have no intention of honoring her final wish, Democrats are pushing for it to be honored.

As Trump prepares to reveal his Supreme Court pick, the Democratic ticket has pushed back. In a statement, Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden said, “the voters should pick the president, and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider,” noting that “this as the position … the Republican Senate took in 2016 when there were almost 10 months to go before the election.” His vice presidential nominee, Kamala Harris, expressed a similar sentiment, promising to “honor” Ginsburg’s final wish.

Trump, however, as well as his fellow Republicans, are making a push to fast track the confirmation. Speaking Monday, the president said the final Senate vote for his nominee should be taken “before the election” and “should go very quickly,” as “the bottom line is we won the election, we have an obligation to do what’s right and act as quickly as possible.” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already vowed that “Trump’s pick will receive a vote on the floor of the United States Senate,” though he did not specify when that vote would occur.