Democratic opponents, led by presidential candidate Joe Biden, however, are demanding that the process wait until after the 3 November election, when it will be known whether Trump is getting a second term.
US President Donald Trump confirmed he will announce his pick for the Supreme Court seat left open by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Saturday.
The prospect of an expedited Senate confirmation vote has sparked furious pushback from Democrats desperate to stop Trump moving the court lastingly to the right.
Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a liberal stalwart, died Friday, opening a crucial vacancy on the court and setting off a fierce political battle before the 3 November vote.
A trailblazing women’s rights lawyer before she joined the court in 1993, Ginsburg emerged as an unlikely pop icon in recent years.
Ginsburg was admitted to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore early Tuesday after first going to her regular Washington hospital with fever and chills.
