President Trump on Wednesday predicted the Supreme Court will need nine justices to determine the outcome of the upcoming presidential election.
“I think this will end up in the Supreme Court. And I think it’s very important we have nine justices,” Mr. Trump said Wednesday, speaking to state attorneys general and reporters about the November race during a meeting on social media.
The Senate, the president said, will need to confirm his nominee in case a tie needs to be broken.
“But I think it’s better if you go before the election because I think this — this scam that the Democrats are pulling — it’s a scam, the scam will be before the United States Supreme Court,” the president continued. “And I think having a 4-4 situation is not a good situation, if you get that. I don’t know that you’d get that. I think it should be 8-nothing or 9-nothing. But just in case it would be more political than it should be, I think it’s very important to have a ninth judge,” Mr. Trump said.
The president regularly says that mass voting by mail will result in widespread election fraud.
Mr. Trump plans to announce his nomination for the Supreme Court at 5 p.m. on Saturday. He reiterated he’s still choosing among five women for the post, all of whom he called “world-class.”
The president also suggested Senator Lindsey Graham, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, wouldn’t even have to hold a confirmation hearing if he didn’t want to — the Senate could simply vote. The president said he thinks the confirmation process will be “fairly quick.”
Meanwhile, the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is lying in repose at the Supreme Court.
Mr. Trump is holding a news conference at the White House at 6 p.m. Wednesday.