Trump set to reveal Supreme Court pick: reports

US President Donald Trump is expected to announce on Saturday that he is nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, US media have reported. 

The nomination would, as expected, tilt the highest US court even further to the right.

Trump said Friday he had already decided upon his choice and said it was "very exciting," but declined to reveal who it was. The White House, however, has indicated to congressional Republicans and outside allies that the pick was Barrett, according to multiple media outlets in the US.

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If confirmed, Barrett, currently a federal judge in Indiana and a favorite among social conservatives, would replace the late left-leaning Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who died on September 18.

Irwin Collier, a professor at Bard College in Berlin, told DW that the 48-year-old Barrett could be sitting on the Supreme Court for some time.

"She is firmly in the anti-abortion side of the debate, as a very conservative Catholic," he added. "She would be the sixth Catholic justice of the Supreme Court right now."

"She's part of the school of jurisprudence in the United States that believes you have to second guess what the founders and authors of the constitution would have said had they lived in 2020," he said. "It puts a very conservative spin on what she does."

Barrett is 'outstanding': Trump

Trump remained coy about his choice Friday evening as he returned from a campaign event, trying to maintain the suspense.

"Well I haven't said it was her [Barrett] but she's outstanding," Trump said.

"Look, they're all great. It could be any of one them. It could be actually anyone on the list," he added.

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Conservative groups and congressional allies are currently laying the groundwork for a swift confirmation process for Trump's choice. They have already organized multimillion-dollar ad campaigns and rallied supporters to boost Trump ahead of final efforts toward securing what they hope to be a second presidential term for the 74-year-old in November.

The likely shift in the composition of the court — from Ginsburg, a liberal icon, to Barrett, an outspoken conservative — would mark a dramatic ideological change for the US.

Democrats essentially powerless to block

For Trump, it would provide a timely boost as he tries to reinvigorate his supporters ahead of next week's first debate with Democratic presidential hopeful Joe Biden.

For the Democrats, Barrett's elevation will be a cause of concern with the party fighting to retake the White House as well as the Senate.

Republicans in the Senate are readying for confirmation hearings in two weeks, with a vote in the full chamber anticipated before November's presidential election. Democrats are well aware that they are essentially powerless to block the congressional votes.

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"I'm confident he's going to make an outstanding nomination,'' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told US television channel Fox News regarding the president's selection. "The American people are going to take a look at this nominee and conclude, as we are likely to conclude, that she well deserves to be confirmed to the US Supreme Court."

But Democratic Senate whip Dick Durbin was less effusive. "They're hell-bent on getting this done as fast as possible," he said. "They think it helps Donald Trump get reelected."

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The nationwide election to decide who will be the president of the United States for the next four years is due to take place on November 3.

jsi/sri (AP, dpa, Reuters)