President Donald Trump said in an interview on Monday that he would likely announce his replacement for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's seat on "Friday or Saturday."
Trump said in an interview on "Fox & Friends" that he would wait until funeral services for Ginsburg on "Thursday or Friday" were held before announcing his nomination.
"We want to pay respect (for Ginsburg)," Trump said.
Later on Monday, the Supreme Court announced that Ginsburg would lie in repose at the Supreme Court Building in Washington on Wednesday and Thursday. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi later announced that Ginsburg would lie in state in Captiol Building on Friday.
In a press release, the Supreme Court said that Ginsburg would be buried next week in Arlington National Ceremony in a private ceremony. Should Trump hold to his schedule of announcing a nominee on Friday or Saturday, Ginsburg will not yet have been laid to rest.
Trump also said he's considering "four or five," judges for nomination. He's already said he would nominate a woman and was asked specifically about Justice Barbara Lagoa, a U.S. Circuit Judge.
Trump called Lagoa "excellent," noting that she's from Florida.
"We love Florida," Trump said.
Trump also reiterated his call for Ginsburg's seat to be filled before the 2020 Election.
"I think the final vote should be taken, frankly, before the election...plenty of time for that," Trump said. "I think it should go very quickly."
Monday marked 43 days until the 2020 election. According to the Congressional Research Service in 2018, it takes the Senate an average of 69 days for a Supreme Court nominee to get to a vote.
Trump was also asked to square the Republicans' decision in 2016 to block President Barack Obama's Supreme Court justice nominee, Merrick Garland, ahead of the presidential election.
"I think Merrick Garland is an outstanding judge. He is liberal, that's OK," Trump said. "That's an election of a different kind. We had the Senate. When you have the Senate, when you have the votes, you can kind of do what you want."
