By BRIAN A. HOWEY, in Indianapolis



1. Braun will seek SCOTUS confirmation



Here are your Monday power lunch talking points: Republican U.S. Sen. Mike Braun is in the full-speed-ahead mode when it comes to filling the seat of the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. “I think that elections have consequences,” Sen. Mike Braun told the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette. “We do have the presidency, and we have the Senate, and I think most Republicans in Indiana would want us to move forward, and I think there are even independents and others that might as well.” U.S. Sen. Todd Young hasn't released his intentions, but he is in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's inner circle, so it's hard to fathom he won't be on board with a vote in 2020.



President Trump told Fox & Friends this morning to expect a female nominee Friday or Saturday. Democratic challenger Joe Biden said the voters choice for president in November should make the choice. In March 2016, with President Obama's selection of Merrick Garland stalled, candidate Donald Trump told CNN before he secured the GOP nomination, “I think the next president should make the pick, and I think they shouldn’t go forward.” Biden said that same month, “It’s a plain abdication of the Senate’s solemn constitutional duty. It’s an abdication, quite frankly, that has never occurred in our history.”



Here's the deal: SCOTUS nominations have become one of the most political acts in Washington. As for the people, a Fox News Poll earlier this month by a 52% to 45% margin trusted Biden more with the pick. As for the overall political ramifications, stay tuned. While the Trump v. Biden numbers haven't fluctuated much through impeachment, pandemic, economic meltdown, Black Lives Matter and its law & order response, a SCOTUS fight could eclipse all of that.



2. ACB still seen as frontrunner



Seventh Circuit Judge Amy Coney Barrett, the Notre Dame grad and law prof, remains the favorite (per Politico Playbook & the Wall Street Journal), though Cuban-American Judge Barbara Lagoa of Florida is the mix. If President Trump decides to take the purely political route, Judge Lagoa could help him secure tossup Florida (which is now his home state). Democratic voters are weighing in with their wallets. ActBlue has received more than $100 million in small donations since Friday night.



3. McIntosh expects dynamic change



Club For Growth President David McIntosh was at an Anderson campaign fundraiser for 5th CD Republican nominee Victoria Spartz this weekend. He told the Herald Bulletin's Ken de la Bastide, "I think the vacancy on the Supreme Court will have a big impact for both parties. Republicans will really look for him to find someone like Antonin Scalia and a couple of people on his list are particularly good. Democrats are going to say that Ruth Bader Ginsburg was our hero, a liberal icon. Her personality and her sincerity on her beliefs, even if you disagreed with her you respected her. If the Senate doesn’t confirm before the election, the Democrats will say we want to make sure our side gets to make the pick.”



4. Money wars



Joe Biden's campaign raised $364.5 million in August to President Trump’s $210 million. But the cash-on-hand difference – $466 million to Trump’s $121 million – is striking. Woody Myers' tells the IndyStar his Democratic gubernatorial campaign has crossed the $1 million mark, but Gov. Eric Holcomb maintains his $8 million advantage.



5 . 200,686 U.S. pandemic deaths



The United States crossed the grim 200,000 COVID death threshold this morning. Health & Human Services Sec. Alex Azar told NBC's Meet The Press on Sunday, "We've seen incredible progress thanks to the vigilance of the American people. They responded to that call to practice the three Ws of wash your hands, watch your distance, wear your face coverings. We've seen an almost 50% decline in cases, 50% decline in hospitalizations, and an even greater decline in fatalities since the high point." On the 200,000 death stat, Azar said, "I mourn the death of any American from this absolutely unprecedented pandemic. I remember though that Dr. Birx and Dr. Fauci have said that if the president had not taken the aggressive actions that we took, we could have lost as many as two million Americans."



Have a great week, folks. It's The Atomic.