President Trump said Monday that he plans to announce his pick to fill the current vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court at 8 p.m. Tuesday from the White House.

Mr. Trump said at the White House that his pick is “unbelievably highly respected.”

“I think you will be very impressed with this person,” he said.

The White House had previously indicated the announcement would be coming on Thursday.

Several names that have been mentioned as possible picks are Judge Neil Gorsuch of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, Judge William Pryor of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit, and Judge Thomas Hardiman of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

Regardless of who Mr. Trump picks to fill the vacancy left by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, there will likely be a bruising confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on ABC Sunday that how the nomination is handled is going to depend on the Democrats, after he had been asked about potentially getting rid of the 60-vote threshold to overcome a potential filibuster for such a nominee.

“It’s way too early for me to tell you or anybody else what we might do,” said Mr. McConnell, Kentucky Republican.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer said Monday on NBC that he’d consider asking for delays in confirmation votes for just about all of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet nominees in light of the fallout from the administration’s “extreme vetting” executive order.

The next Supreme Court justice isn’t a member of Mr. Trump’s Cabinet, but Democrats could strike a similar posture for that pick depending on how the nominee views the immigration order, among other issues.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

Copyright © 2020 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.