President Donald Trump said on Monday (Sept 21) that he is looking at four or five jurists to replace the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the United States Supreme Court and will announce his nominee on Friday or Saturday.
Mr Trump pushed ahead with plans for his third US Supreme Court nomination, which would cement a 6-3 conservative majority, as some Republicans wavered on whether to support the move weeks before an election.
The Republican president said in an interview with Fox News that he wanted to wait out of respect for Ms Ginsburg, a liberal justice who died last Friday at age 87.
"We should wait until the services are over for Justice Ginsburg," he said.
The death of liberal icon Ginsburg upended the campaign season, giving Mr Trump and his party an opportunity to strengthen their grip on the court whose decisions influence most spheres of American life, from healthcare to gun rights to voting access.
Mr Trump said a vote on his Supreme Court nominee should come before the Nov 3 election.
"We won the election and we've the right to do so we've plenty of time, tons of time," Mr Trump told Fox. "The final vote should be taken frankly before the election. We've plenty of time for that."