Longtime SCOTUS Journalist Weighs In On Tonight's Announcement

In just a few hours, we will know President Trump's Supreme Court nominee to fill the seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

President Trump will make his announcement tonight at a press conference and this announcement is nearly a year in the making as Justice Scalia passed away in mid-February last year.

That led to the nomination of Judge Merrick Garland but he was never confirmed. Instead, the Senate waited for tonight.

Trump is reportedly leaning towards Pennsylvania federal appeals court judge, Thomas Hardiman, and Denver-based federal appeals court judge, Neil Gorsuch.

But one reporter who's covered the high court for nearly 70 years says who ever fills this seat likely won't change much now.

“Justice Kennedy on cultural or social issues is not a routine or dependable member of a conservative majority,” Lyle Denniston of SCOTUSblog told News 9. “So as long as Kennedy is there and there are four liberals on the court, there is not a conservative majority presently existing all across the board.”

You can see President Trump's announcement tonight at 7 p.m. on News 9.