Trump Vows to Nominate Woman As Ginsburg’s Replacement

US President Donald Trump said he will nominate a woman next week to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg, the late Supreme Court Justice, worsening a political line over her successor, reports BBC.

On Friday, just weeks before the presidential election, Ginsburg, 87, died.

The Democrat rival of Mr. Trump, Joe Biden, insists that the decision on her replacement should wait until after the vote.

The nine-member court's ideological diversity is key to its decisions on the most important topics in US law.

But President Trump has promised to swear "without hesitation" in Ginsburg's replacement, a move that has alarmed Democrats, who believe Republicans will vote to lock the country's highest court in a decades-long conservative majority.

"I will be putting forth a nominee next week. It will be a woman," Mr Trump said at a campaign rally in Fayetteville, North Carolina on Saturday. "I think it should be a woman because I actually like women much more than men."

Some supporters chanted "Fill that seat!" as Mr Trump spoke, urging him to exploit the unusual opportunity to nominate a third court for a lifetime position on the court within one presidential term.

Earlier, Mr. Trump lauded two female judges as potential options on city appeals courts. Both the judges-Amy Coney Barrett and Barbara Lagoa-are moderates in support of the Republicans who will tip the Supreme Court 's balance.

Democrats firmly opposed any nominee before the November election, alleging that Senate Republicans blocked the 2016 US top court option of Democratic President Barack Obama.

At the time the move was justified by Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on the grounds that it was an election year. But Senator McConnell said on Friday that he wanted to act on every appointment Mr Trump made and put it to a vote in the Senate before election day.

Ginsburg, a liberal icon and feminist standard-bearer, died of metastatic pancreatic cancer surrounded by her family at her home in Washington , DC. She was also the second woman ever to sit on the Supreme Court.

On Friday night, supporters gathered outside the court to pay tribute to the woman who had become affectionately known as' The Notorious RBG.'

What's the row here about?

The selection of judges in the U.S. is a political issue that ensures the president will be able to select who will be put forward. The Senate then votes to confirm the option-or deny it.

Ginsburg, who served for 27 years, was on the nine-seat bench as one of just four liberals. Her death means the balance of power will change decisively towards the Conservatives should the Republicans get the vote through.

Mr Trump, who has already selected two Supreme Court judges during his term, is well aware that, for decades to come, having his candidate in will give conservatives leverage over crucial decisions. Justices, unless they wish to resign, will serve for life.

"We were put in this position of power and importance to make decisions for the people who so proudly elected us, the most important of which has long been considered to be the selection of United States Supreme Court Justices. We have this obligation, without delay!," he wrote on Twitter on Saturday.

Earlier, in a tweet-which included a homage to Ginsburg-Mr McConnell said that "the nominee of President Trump will obtain a vote on the United States Senate floor."

"In 2016, the senator claimed that" in choosing their next Supreme Court Justice, the American people should have a vote, "which meant" this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.

But now he says the Senate was within its rights to act because it was Republican-controlled, and Mr Trump is a Republican president.

Democrats, however, began echoing Mr McConnell's words from 2016.

The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer, sent a tweet repeating his exact phrase, while Mr Biden told reporters: "There is no doubt - let me be clear - that the voters should pick the president and the president should pick the justice for the Senate to consider."

Ginsburg had also made her feelings clear in the days before her death.

"My most fervent wish is that I will not be replaced until a new president is installed," she wrote in a statement to her granddaughter, according to National Public Radio (NPR).

What does the Supreme Court do?

The US highest court is also the last word on extremely contested legislation, state-to-federal disputes, and last appeals to stay executions.

The court has extended gay marriage to all 50 states in recent years, allowed President Trump's travel ban to be placed in effect, and suspended a US proposal to curb carbon emissions as appeals moved forward.

It also deals with issues like reproductive rights - one of the main reasons some pro-life conservatives want to tip the balance away from liberals.

Who are seen as top contenders?

Barbara Lagoa: A Cuban American from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals located in Atlanta, she was the first Hispanic judge on the Supreme Court of Florida. She is a retired federal attorney.

Amy Coney Barrett: A member of the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in Chicago, she is a favorite of religious conservatives and is known for her anti-abortion views. She was a law schoolteacher at Indiana's Notre Dame Law School.

The Deputy White House Lawyer, Kate Comerford Todd, has a lot of support within the White House. Serving as former senior vice-president and chief counsel, young feminist American Chamber Litigation Center converted her into a cult figure.