Donald Trump announced Monday that he would appoint a new Supreme Court judge at the weekend to succeed Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and insisted that the vote in the Senate should take place before the presidential election on November 3, stoking a fierce political battle which already monopolizes the campaign. Sweeping the cries of indignation of the Democrats, the president estimated that the Senate, with a Republican majority, had
"ample time"
to confirm the appointment of a new magistrate before the poll which will pit him against Joe Biden.
"I would much prefer there to be a vote before the election," he
told reporters.
By flying to Ohio, he reaffirmed that he would make his
"decision Saturday, maybe Friday"
.
This will signal the start of the confirmation process to replace the judge, feminist icon and of the American left, who died last Friday at 87 years of age from cancer.
Read also: Death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg: the Supreme Court becomes a major issue of the American campaign
Shock in this campaign already upset by several historical events, the succession of "RBG" within the temple of American law will be one of the major subjects of the presidential election.
The stake is simple: to firmly anchor, or not, the Supreme Court in the conservative camp for decades.
An institution which settles, in the United States, the main questions of society, such as abortion, the right to bear arms or the rights of homosexuals.
What galvanize the voters of both camps.
Joe Biden, who leads in the polls, had so far placed at the heart of his campaign Donald Trump's management of the Covid-19 pandemic and the some 200,000 dead in the United States.
The death of the magistrate has suddenly reshuffled the cards.
"A very talented woman"
Having promised to name
"a very talented woman"
, the tenant of the White House said he wanted to wait until the end of the funeral ceremonies.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg's remains will be on display in the Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday, then on Capitol Hill on Friday.
She will be buried in private next week at Arlington National Cemetery near Washington.
Bringing candles and flowers in tribute to the magistrate, thousands of moved people flocked this weekend to the Supreme Court in Washington.
"I will fight"
: the progressive Senator Elizabeth Warren made them take again in heart Saturday evening this slogan against the leader of the Republicans in the Senate, Mitch McConnell.
It is in fact the upper house of Congress which has the power to confirm, by simple majority, the justices of the Supreme Court appointed for life by the president.
In 2016, when the conservative Antonin Scalia died ten months before the presidential election, Mitch McConnell blocked the process to replace him, arguing that voters should be left to choose.
This time, he promised on Friday that the Senate would vote on a candidate for Donald Trump.
The Senate will vote
"this year"
, he insisted on Monday without specifying the deadline.
Read also: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, progressive and feminist icon of the Supreme Court
Its majority of 53 to 47 is slim, and already two moderate Republican senators have estimated that the Senate should not decide before the presidential election.
All eyes are therefore on another Republican major critic of Donald Trump, Mitt Romney, who has not yet spoken.
But even without them, the Republicans would have enough votes, thanks to the intervention of Vice-President Mike Pence who can decide in the event of a tie, to confirm the replacement of “RBG”.
The fact remains that the period of a month and a half to conduct hearings in the Senate is short, while the latter has never done so in less than two months.
Joe Biden denounced Sunday
"a brutal exercise of political power"
by his rival,
"an abuse of power"
if he really pushed his replacement before the election.
Democrats hammer home that Ruth Bader Ginsburg has left as a last wish not to be replaced until a
"new president is in office,"
according to public radio NPR.
Donald Trump brushed
aside
these objections on Monday:
“It came out of nowhere”
.
“In the end, we won the election.
We have an obligation. ”
In 2016, his promise to appoint conservative judges had weighed in the rallying of many evangelical voters, initially skeptical of this colorful billionaire, divorced twice.
Read also: United States: Supreme Court Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg Has Died
Donald Trump said five finalists were on his list and spoke to female candidates on Sunday and Monday.
Among the favorites are Amy Coney Barrett, a Catholic, 48, and a Cuban magistrate born in Florida, Barbara Lagoa, 52.
The latter is
"excellent, she's Hispanic, she's a great woman
," he told Fox News.
"We love Florida,"
he added of this state which should play a key role in the outcome of the presidential election.
