President-elect Donald Trump says he has narrowed his choice for a Supreme Court nominee "down to probably three or four candidates."
One of Trump's first decisions after his inauguration will be to nominate a replacement for Justice Antonin Scalia, who died in February. The high court has been functioning with just eight justices since then, with the Republican-led Senate refusing to hold hearings on President Barack Obama's nominee, Judge Merrick Garland.
During his campaign, Trump unveiled a list of 21 potential nominees to fill the vacancy. Included were U.S. Court of Appeals Judges William Pryor, Diane Sykes, former Wisconsin state Supreme Court judge, s he would consider for the Supreme Court. Along with Pryor and Sikes, the list included Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, and Michigan Supreme Court Chief Judge Robert Young Jr.
"We're going to have to appoint very soon. We're going to have to come up with a name," Trump told Fox News Channel's Sean Hannity in an interview that aired Thursday night. He said his candidates are "terrific people. Highly respected, brilliant people and we'll be announcing that pretty soon too."
He told Hannity that his final choices would be constitutional "originalists."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.