Trump lays out timeline for RBG replacement
Battle lines drawn even before justice's memorial - NBC's Alice Barr reports
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KYMA, KECY) - Even before the U.S. Supreme Court announced plans to memorialize the late justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, President Donald Trump announced his plan to replace her.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is laying the groundwork for a lightning-fast confirmation, and Democrats have limited options for derailing it.
With just 43-days to go until the election, the Supreme Court has now become a focal point, both for the lost icon, and what promises to be a contentious fight over the seat to be filled.
Plans are now in place to honor Justice Ginsburg. Mourners continue to pay their respects.
Already, the fight to fill her seat is front and center in the presidential campaign. President Trump plans to announce his nominee at the end of the week. He says it will be a woman.
The top two contenders include federal judge Amy Coney Barrett. She's a favorite among conservatives. Also in the running, Barbara Lagoa. Lagoa's a Cuban-American federal judge from battleground Florida.
Once he makes his choice, President Trump urges Senate Republicans to use their majority power to confirm her.
"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 -
we have plenty of time to do it." said the president.
McConnell has already promised the Senate will vote on the president's nominee, drawing fierce criticism and allegations of hypocrisy.
The Majority Leader blocked President Obama's last Supreme Court nominee when Justice Anton Scalia died more than eight-months before the 2016 election. At that time, he claimed the voters should have their say first.
"Their word is simply no good, it's enough to make your head explode." said Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, (D-New York).
Republican senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski have already said they do not support moving ahead before the election. It would take two more GOP defections to block the nomination.
Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden urged his former Senagte colleagues to delay the vote.
With few options to stop the process, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi says everything is on the table, not ruling out another impeachment, to hold up the Senate.
Justice Ginsburg will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday, before lying in state at the U.S. Capitol on Friday. She will be the first woman to ever receive that honor.
