ATLANTA — Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday teased another looming U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, saying there’s a good chance there will be a chance for gun-rights activists to mobilize on the issue once more either this summer or next.

“I believe very soon we’re going to see another vacancy,” Mr. Cruz told attendees at the National Rifle Association lobbying arm’s “Leadership Forum” in Atlanta.

“I think the odds are significant that we’ll see another vacancy either this summer or next summer,” he said.

“This next vacancy, I hope and pray that President Trump continues to honor his promise to nominate principled constitutionalist[s] who will ferociously defend the Bill of Rights.

“And when that happens, it will be incumbent on all of us — each and every one of us — to inform, to educate, to mobilize the American people that the only way we defend our liberties is if we stand up and fight to protect the Bill of Rights and the Constitution,” he said.

Mr. Cruz, who was Mr. Trump’s top rival for the 2016 GOP presidential nomination, had made a similar prediction about a looming vacancy earlier this year at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).

On Friday, Mr. Cruz also praised Justice Neil Gorsuch, who was Mr. Trump’s pick to fill the last vacancy left on the high court by Justice Antonin Scalia.

“God bless the NRA,” he said. “It’s 2017. And Hillary Clinton is not president of the United States.

“And Neil Gorsuch is a Supreme Court Justice,” he said.

Sign up for Daily Newsletters Manage Newsletters

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