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Trump: 'Of Course' I Would Fill Supreme Court Vacancy Before 2020 Election

President Donald Trump, Saagar Enjeti, and Jordan Fabian/ Twitter Screenshot
June 24, 2019

President Donald Trump on Monday said "of course" he would make a nomination to the Supreme Court if there's a vacancy before the 2020 election.

The Hill's Jordan Fabian and Saagar Enjeti met with Trump for an interview, where they asked him about selecting a nominee for a hypothetical Supreme Court vacancy before the 2020 election.

"Would I do that? Of course," Trump said.

He was then asked if he would choose a nominee during election season.

"It depends. I mean, we have the Senate," he added. "We have a great Senate. We have great people. If we could get him approved, I would definitely do it. No, I’d do it a lot sooner than that. I’d do it. If there were three days left, I’d put somebody up hoping that I could get ‘em done in three days, OK?"

When asked whether his position is a reversal from his support of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) blocking then-President Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee Merrick Garland, he said, "They couldn’t get him approved."

"That’s the other problem because they didn’t have the Senate. If they had the Senate, they would have done it," Trump said, referring to the Senate Democrats.

McConnell was asked last month about whether Republicans would fill a Supreme Court vacancy in 2020 if one opened up, prompting him to say, "Oh, we'd fill it."