WASHINGTON | Donald Trump said on Saturday that he would quickly come up with a name, “probably” that of a woman, to replace Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an icon of the American left who died on Friday.
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The willingness of the tenant of the White House to go quickly, despite Democratic criticism, promises an end to the presidential campaign in the United States.
“I think it will go very quickly,” said Mr. Trump from the gardens of the White House, referring to an announcement “next week”.
“It will most likely be a woman,” he said again. “The choice of a woman would undoubtedly be judicious,” he insisted.
Judge “RBG”, as she was nicknamed, passed away on Friday from pancreatic cancer at the age of 87. His death sparked a wave of emotion in the country and also immense concern in the Democratic camp, coupled with a political barrage.
Because the arrival of a new judge appointed by Donald Trump would anchor the temple of American law in the conservative camp for a long time.
45 days
45 days before the presidential election, Democratic candidate Joe Biden and ex-President Barack Obama immediately warned Donald Trump.
“Voters must choose the president, and the president must nominate a judge for the Senate,” Joe Biden said. Barack Obama called on his Republican successor to abstain when “ballots have already been cast” for the November 3 poll, either by advance or by mail.
The nine Supreme Court justices are appointed for life, and Donald Trump has already made two appointments, those of Conservatives Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh. His camp currently has five judges.
The stakes are high since the Court decides the main questions of society, such as abortion, the right to bear arms or the rights of homosexuals, which are often also the fault lines of an American society more divided than ever.
The high court also has the last word on electoral disputes, as in the 2000 presidential election finally won by George W. Bush against Al Gore.
Justice Ginsburg’s health was faltering and Republicans were bracing for the vacancy. Donald Trump presented in early September a list of personalities he could present. Among them, two ultra-conservative senators, Ted Cruz and Tom Cotton.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell warned as early as Friday night that he was willing to move forward with the nomination process. In comparable circumstances, four years ago, he had yet blocked the appointment of a judge by Barack Obama.
Trump in campaign
Republicans believed then that one does not change a judge in an election year. The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee Lindsey Graham took note on Saturday of the wish of Donald Trump, to whom he is very close. “I fully understand” the president, he said.
Donald Trump will have the opportunity to speak again on Saturday. He will be campaigning in the hotly contested state of North Carolina.
At the end of the day, he will give a meeting there in front of his supporters to whom he regularly reminds that his objective is to appoint as many conservative judges as possible at all levels of the judiciary.
He has a Republican majority of 53 to 47 in the Senate, but a handful of senators could be lacking, especially those facing difficult re-elections in moderate states. The political equation is therefore complex.
Moderate Republican Senator from Maine, Susan Collins, on Saturday announced her position that the Senate should not confirm a new Supreme Court judge until the November 3 presidential election.
“Out of honesty towards the American people (…), this decision of life appointment to the Supreme Court should be taken by the president who will be elected on November 3,” she said.
The launch of a parliamentary battle on the Supreme Court would completely change the face of the campaign, today dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic and its consequences.
Donald Trump is currently behind in the polls by Joe Biden, and severely criticized by Americans for his management of the coronavirus.
A pioneer
On Saturday, under a cool sun, several hundred people gathered in front of the Supreme Court to bow to the memory of RBG, born in 1933 in Brooklyn to an American Jewish family and who died on Rosh Hashanah, the New Year. Jewish.
Among them, Joe Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, came to meditate with her husband. “RBG was for me a pioneer, an icon, a fighter. She was a woman in every sense of the word, ”she told an AFP journalist.
A candidate for the vice-presidency, but also a prominent member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Kamala Harris will play a key role in the coming months.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg will keep a special place in the history of the conquest of rights and the fight against discrimination.
A lawyer, she obtained from the Supreme Court the dismantling of discriminatory laws against women. Entered the Supreme Court 27 years ago on appointment by Bill Clinton, she is the subject of worship in the United States.
No details were known on Saturday on the organization of his funeral.