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Trump Unveils Court Pick on Monday

by Jim Malone

   WASHINGTON --

   U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday will announce his nominee for the
   Supreme Court to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. The
   announcement is likely to set off a major confirmation battle in the
   Senate, where Republicans hold a narrow majority and opposition
   Democrats say they are ready for a fight over Trump's court pick.

   In his weekly presidential address, Trump said his "greatest
   responsibility is to select a justice who will faithfully interpret the
   Constitution as written." The president vowed to select someone with
   "impeccable credentials, great intellect, unbiased judgment and deep
   reverence for the laws and Constitution."

   During a campaign rally in Montana Thursday, Trump sought to build
   expectations among supporters for his nominee.

   "As you know there is now a vacancy on the Supreme Court. And if you
   tune in Monday at 9 o'clock I think you are going to be extremely happy
   with the selection. Right? And they are all great. They are all great,"
   Trump said to cheers at a rally in Great Falls, Montana.

   WATCH: Trump to Unveil Court Pick Monday

   Democrats mobilize

   Anthony Kennedy was a critical swing vote in a number of high-profile
   cases, including same-sex marriage and upholding a woman's right to an
   abortion.

   Democrats have vowed to resist a nominee who could swing the high court
   further to the right.

   "So it makes it all the more important that we get someone who is going
   to be a person of integrity and someone who is going to make a decision
   based on precedent, based on the rule of law, and not someone who is
   ideological," said Senator Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota.

   The Kennedy void

   Legal analysts noted that Kennedy's departure leaves a critical void on
   the high court.

   "He leaves the court in a calcified state of a hardened left and right
   with nobody in that middle position," said George Washington University
   constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley.

   Trump said he has narrowed his choice to three or four contenders.
   Among those believed to be on the short list are federal appeals court
   judges Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, Raymond Kethledge and Amul
   Thapar.

   Kennedy was often a member of five-to-four majority decisions on the
   high court, and now conservatives see a chance to solidify their
   majority on the Supreme Court for years to come.

   "I think many on the right feel in particular that Anthony Kennedy,
   while broadly on the conservative side, was not as consistent as he
   might have been, and that the nominee of Donald Trump will have the
   court be much more consistently five votes in the conservative
   direction," said John Fortier with the Bipartisan Policy Center in
   Washington.

   Rightward shift

   Analysts also predict that a firmly conservative nominee will spark a
   high stakes political battle in the Senate.

   "I think that we probably have never seen an appointment process that
   will be as contentious as this one given the importance of Kennedy's
   position on the court and the increasingly polarized state of the
   nation," said George Washington University legal analyst Paul Schiff
   Berman via Skype.

   A recent Quinnipiac Poll found that 31 percent of voters believe
   Trump's nominee should make the high court more conservative.
   Twenty-nine percent want the pick to make the court more liberal and 35
   percent said the appointment should keep the current balance on the
   court.

   The survey also found that by a margin of 50 percent to 42 percent,
   Americans believe the Supreme Court is more motivated by politics than
   the law.

   Trump's nominee must be confirmed by the Senate, where Republicans hold
   a narrow 51- to 49-seat majority. A handful of Senate Democrats running
   for re-election in states that Trump won handily in 2016 could face a
   difficult vote on the court nominee. They could provide Republicans
   with an additional buffer if they decide to support the president.

   Jim Malone has served as VOA's National correspondent covering U.S.
   elections and politics since 1995. Prior to that he was a VOA
   congressional correspondent and served as VOA's East Africa
   Correspondent from 1986 to 1990. Jim began his VOA career with the
   English to Africa Service in 1983.