(Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool)WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump is expected to announce Saturday that he is nominating Judge Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court as he aims to put a historic conservative stamp on the high court just weeks before the election. When asked whether lawmakers were being told it was Barrett, Trump responded with a nod on the tarmac at Joint Base Andrews, before replying, “Is that what they’re telling you?”“You’ll find out tomorrow,” he went on to say, flashing a wide smile. The White House has already concluded a round of vetting this month, as Trump released an additional 20 names he would consider for the court. Trump had said he was considering five women for Ginsburg's seat, but Barrett was at the White House at least twice this week, including for a Monday meeting with Trump. The staunch conservative’s 2017 appeals court confirmation on a party-line vote included allegations that Democrats were attacking her Catholic faith.

But under GOP planning, the Senate could vote Oct. 29. No court nominee in U.S. history has been considered so close to a presidential election. During a private lunch meeting Tuesday at Senate GOP campaign headquarters, several Republican senators spoke up in favor of voting before the election. Elsewhere, as tributes poured in for Ginsburg with vigils and flowers at the court’s steps, Democrats led by presidential nominee Joe Biden vowed a tough fight. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska for opposing a Senate vote before elections.