Trump says he will announce U.S. Supreme Court nominee Friday or Saturday

Trump pushed ahead with plans for his third U.S. Supreme Court nomination, which would cement a 6-3 conservative majority, as some Republicans wavered on whether to support the move weeks before an election.

The Republican president said in an interview with Fox News that he wanted to wait out of respect for Ginsburg, a liberal justice who died on Friday at age 87. "We should wait until the services are over for Justice Ginsburg," he said.

The death of liberal icon Ginsburg upended the campaign season, giving Trump and his party an opportunity to strengthen its grip on the court whose decisions influence most spheres of American life, from healthcare to gun rights to voting access.

Trump said a vote on his Supreme Court nominee should come before the Nov. 3 election.

"We won the election and we have the right to do so we have plenty of time, a lot of time," Trump told Fox. "The final vote should be taken frankly before the election. We have plenty of time for that."

(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Susan Heavey; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)