The Latest: White House taps team for Supreme Court pick

WASHINGTON (AP) " The Latest on President Donald Trump and the Supreme Court (all times local):

11:03 a.m.

The White House is getting its team in place for the confirmation process for President Donald Trump's next Supreme Court pick.

White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders said Monday that White House Counsel Don McGahn will lead the overall process. He played the same role in the successful confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch last year.

Spokesman Raj Shah will take leave from his role in the press office to work full time on "communications, strategy and messaging coordination with Capitol Hill allies." And Justin Clark, the director of the Office of Public Liaison, will oversee White House coordination with outside groups.

Trump has said he will announce his nominee to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy July 9.

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10:35 a.m.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer is trying to rally public opposition to any Supreme Court nominee by President Donald Trump who'd oppose abortion rights and expanded health care coverage.

The New York Democrat says this summer's retirement of Justice Anthony Kennedy creates the most important high court vacancy "in our lifetimes."

Schumer says while Democrats are outnumbered in the narrowly divided Senate, most senators back abortion rights and the added coverage created by former President Barack Obama's health care law. He says both would be threatened by a conservative Trump nominee.

Schumer writes in an opinion column in Monday's New York Times that people should pressure senators to oppose nominees who'd overturn abortion rights and Obama's statute.

Kennedy has been a swing vote on several issues on the nine-member court.

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12:32 a.m.

Republican Sen. Susan Collins says she would oppose any nominee she believed would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.

She would be a key vote on President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court in the closely divided Senate.

The White House is focusing on five to seven potential candidates to fill the vacancy of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, a swing vote on the court. The Maine senator said Sunday that she would only back a judge who would show respect for settled law such as the 45-year-old Roe decision, which has long been anathema to conservatives.Republican Sen. Susan Collins, a key vote on President Donald Trump's pick for the Supreme Court, said Sunday she would oppose any nominee she believed would overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion.