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Trump says he expects to nominate Supreme Court justice in first two weeks

Posted at 2:03 PM, Jan 11, 2017
and last updated 2017-01-11 14:24:18-05

(AP) – President-elect Donald Trump says he expects to nominate a new Supreme Court justice within two weeks of inauguration.

Trump says at a news conference Wednesday: “We’ve met with numerous candidates. They’re outstanding in every case.”

The president-elect said voters supported him in part because he would nominate a conservative justice for the Supreme Court to replace Antonin Scalia. Scalia’s death in early 2016 created a vacancy that was kept open as Senate Republicans blocked a hearing for Merrick Garland, President Barack Obama’s nominee.

Trump said he had received recommendations for nominees from the conservative and libertarian Federalist Society and Jim DeMint, a former Republican senator from South Carolina who now leads the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

Trump said that he plans to start signing bills on the Monday after the January 20 inauguration.