Trump intends to nominate Amy Coney Barrett to Supreme Court

It’s possible Mr. Trump could change his mind, but at this point, Barrett is expected to be announced as the president’s choice Saturday afternoon at the White House.

She has been a leading candidate and was a finalist to be Mr. Trump’s second Supreme Court pick. Barrett met with the president at the White House on Monday.

If confirmed, Barrett, who serves on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, would be Mr. Trump’s third Supreme Court appointee, following Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, and just the fifth woman to serve on the high court. With her ascension to the Supreme Court, Barrett would further solidify its conservative majority, widening it to 6-3 and diluting the power of Chief Justice John Roberts as a swing vote.

Mr. Trump’s selection of Barrett, 48, would occur just over a week after Ginsburg’s death at the age of 87 from complications of metastatic pancreatic cancer. A pioneer for women’s rights, Ginsburg was appointed to the Supreme Court in 1993 and served as the anchor of the court’s liberal wing.

But Mr. Trump has been urging Republicans to take up his nominee’s confirmation swiftly, and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed she will receive a vote on the Senate floor. In defending their decision to move forward with Barrett’s confirmation, McConnell and top Republicans argue that unlike in 2016, the same party — the GOP — now controls the White House and the Senate.