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President Trump To Announce Supreme Court Pick In Televised Address

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WASHINGTON (CBSMiami) - President Donald Trump will formally announce his nomination for the open Supreme Court seat in a nationally televised address Monday night.

President Trump said he was still deciding on a nominee as he traveled back to the White House from his New Jersey golf club on Sunday.

"Let's say it's the four people, they're excellent, but they're excellent, everyone, you can't go wrong. I'm getting very close to making a final decision," he told reporters.

The four are believed to be Amy Coney Barrett, Thomas Hardiman, Brett Kavanaugh, and Raymond Kethledge.

The nominee will face a rigorous confirmation process in the Senate, where Republicans hold a slim majority. He, or she, will replace Justice Anthony Kennedy, a moderate conservative who occasionally sided with liberals.

Kavanaugh and Kethledge both formerly clerked for Kennedy. Barrett is a favorite of the base for her conservative religious views while Hardiman was the runner-up to the President's first Supreme Court pick, Justice Neil Gorsuch.

"Republicans are holding four lottery tickets and all of them are winners," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-SC.

Democrats think otherwise. They hope to convince at least one Republican to vote no and block the nomination.

"It will affect reproductive choice and individual freedom for millions of women all over the United States. It will affect consumer protection, environmental protection, LGBT rights," said Sen. Chris Coons, D-DE.

If Republicans stick together, there's nothing Democrats can do to stop the confirmation.

Democrats say the vote should wait until after the congressional midterm elections. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell blocked President Barak Obama's nominee Merrick Garland in 2016, citing the presidential election as an opportunity to let voters have a voice in the decision. But McConnell says the midterms aren't the same and plans to hold a vote this fall.

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