Sources: Trump Has Settled On a Name for His 3rd Justice

It appears that President Trump has his new Supreme Court nominee. The Washington Post, Politico, the New York Times, and Axios all report that sources are pointing to federal appeals court judge Amy Coney Barrett as Trump's pick to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a move that would significantly push the Supreme Court even further to the right, with a 6-3 conservative majority. The 48-year-old Barrett, who has served on the US Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit since 2017, would be the third relatively young conservative justice appointed by Trump to the high court, joining Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, both in their 50s, on the bench.

Barrett, whom the Times calls a "polar opposite" to Ginsburg, was in the running to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy when he retired in 2018. Trump, however, was said to be "saving" the devout Catholic, known for her deeply conservative views on such topics as abortion and LGBT issues, for when Ginsburg's slot opened up. A caveat from the Times, though, on Trump's supposed nominee: "As they often do, aides cautioned that Mr. Trump sometimes upends his own plans." On Friday night, in response to questions from reporters on his pick, Trump would only say he's made his pick "in my own mind, yes," and that "I haven’t said it was [Barrett], but she is outstanding," per Politico. (More US Supreme Court stories.)