The White House will waste no time in filling the Supreme Court seat left open by Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement.
President Trump wants to work on nominating and confirming a new justice "immediately," The Associated Press reported Wednesday, following Kennedy's announcement.
The president will choose a new judge from the list of potential nominees that the White House compiled last year, Trump told reporters. That list includes Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), who told CNN that he "would not say no" to a Supreme Court nomination. Other candidates up for consideration include Justice Edward Mansfield of the Iowa Supreme Court and Patrick Wyrick, a judge for the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
While the White House has signaled that Trump is eager to get a new justice on the nation's highest bench, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Wednesday that the Senate "will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor this fall."