President Donald Trump appeared to push back his timeline for announcing a new Supreme Court Justice nominee, citing memorial services for Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Ginsburg died Friday at age 87 due to complications from metastatic pancreatic cancer. Trump told reporters Saturday that he plans to announce a Supreme Court nominee “next week,” adding that it will “most likely” be a woman.
White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany first told “CBS This Morning” that the president “very likely” could announce a nominee before Wednesday. Trump appeared to push this timeline back while talking to “Fox & Friends” Monday morning. (RELATED: Trump Says If Democrats Impeach Him Over SCOTUS Nominee, It Will Help Republicans In 2020 Election)
“I think it’ll be on Friday or Saturday,” the president said. “And we want to pay respect. We – it looks like, it looks like we will have probably services on Thursday or Friday, as I understand it.”
“I think in all due respect we should wait until the services are over for Justice Ginsburg,” he added. “And so we’re looking probably at Friday or maybe Saturday.”
WATCH:
Almost immediately following Ginsburg’s death, some left-wing activists, pundits and journalists began to call for court-packing and rioting if Trump tried to replace the late Supreme Court Justice.
Ginsburg’s death opens up the possibility for Republicans to shift power within the Supreme Court, Fox News reported. Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s home was the site of an early morning protest Monday after he announced that Trump’s nominee would be voted on by the Senate.