Trump says no meeting planned with Lagoa for Supreme Court, she is on his list
President Donald Trump on Wednesday said he does not have a meeting planned with Judge Barbara Lagoa but she is on his list for a nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court.
He said there were five women candidates he was considering for the vacancy and he would announce the nominee on Saturday at 5 p.m. at the White House.
“I think it will be a great nominee, brilliant nominee,” Trump said at a press conference.
When asked whether he would be meeting with Lagoa, Trump said, “She is on my list, I don’t have a meeting planned, but she is on my list.”
The president had earlier this week suggested they might meet in Florida. But White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows said in an earlier statement Wednesday that “there are no plans to conduct interviews in Florida.”
“The entire process will be handled in Washington, D.C. as expeditiously as possible,” Meadows said. “Any suggestion of interviews with any candidate in other locations is not accurate.”
A source close to the White House vetting process said that a meeting in Washington remained a possibility, but was unable to confirm Lagoa’s travel plans.
Lagoa, a Cuban-American born in Miami serving on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, and Amy Coney Barrett, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit, are considered the two frontrunners for the nod to replace Ginsburg. Trump met with Barrett at the White House on Monday and again on Tuesday, a senior administration official confirmed..
Speaking with reporters on Monday, Trump had said that he could meet with Lagoa while in Florida this week.
“She’s highly thought of and has got a lot of support,” Trump said at the White House. “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.”
The Supreme Court vacancy due to the death of Ginsburg, an anchor of the liberal wing of the high court, less than six weeks from Election Day has ignited a fierce debate in Washington over whether to proceed with the nomination process before the Nov. 3 election.
On Tuesday, two Republican senators who were viewed as on the fence with moving forward before the election – Mitt Romney of Utah and Cory Gardner of Colorado – said they would support actions to proceed with the nomination.
Their support all but ensures that Trump’s nominee will receive a vote on the Senate floor.
Updated with Trump comment.
This story was originally published September 23, 2020 at 3:33 PM.
