Trump spoke with Supreme Court candidates and may meet one in Miami
President Donald Trump said on Monday that he spoke with several candidates on his short list of candidates for the Supreme Court, and may meet one of them in Miami before naming his final choice at the end of the week.
Before leaving the White House for Ohio, Trump told reporters that he had spoken with some of the candidates and planned to meet a few of them and confirmed that his list has narrowed to five women.
One of them is Barbara Lagoa, a Cuban-American born in Miami who is serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit. Trump said he could meet her while visiting Florida on Thursday and Friday.
“She’s highly thought of and has got a lot of support,” Trump told reporters. “You know, a lot of people – I’m getting a lot of phone calls from a lot of people. She has a lot of support. I don’t know her, but I hear she’s outstanding. And she’s one of the people we’re looking at.”
Lagoa and Amy Coney Barrett, a circuit judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, are considered the two frontrunners for the nod to replace Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, an anchor of the liberal wing of the Supreme Court who died on Friday.
Trump met with Barrett at the White House on Monday, one senior administration official said.
Florida state Sen. Manny Diaz, Jr., a Cuban-American Republican representing Hialeah, said he believes a Lagoa nomination would help Trump win the state in the upcoming presidential election.
“I do think it matters in the margins, and in Florida the margins matter,” he said.
Ginsburg’s death created the third Supreme Court vacancy during Trump’s presidency. He previously appointed Justices Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh to the high court.
Sources familiar with the White House deliberations said that Joan Larsen of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, Bridget Bade of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit and Allison Eid of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit are also under consideration.
“They’re all outstanding,” Trump said of his short list, “but I have one or two that I have in mind.”
The Supreme Court vacancy less than six weeks from Election Day has ignited a fierce debate in Washington over whether to proceed with the nomination process before Americans have the chance to vote for a new president.
Trump said he would prefer a Senate confirmation vote before the Nov. 3 election.
“I’d much rather have a vote before the election because there’s a lot of work to be done, and I’d much rather have it. And we have plenty of time to do it,” he said.
Miami Herald reporter David Smiley contributed to this report.
This story was originally published September 21, 2020 at 5:28 PM.
