WASHINGTON — President Trump is closing in on his next Supreme Court nominee, with three federal judges leading the competition to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Trump’s top contenders for the vacancy at this time are federal appeals judges Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, and Raymond Kethledge, said a person familiar with Trump’s thinking who was not authorized to speak publicly.

Working closely with a White House team and consulting lawmakers and outside advisers, Trump has spent the week deliberating on the choice and conducted interviews Monday and Tuesday. He has not yet publicly indicated that he has narrowed the list.

Trump plans to announce his selection Monday night, kicking off a contentious nomination process as Republicans seek to shift the court to the right and Democrats strive to block the effort.

Vice President Mike Pence also met with some of the contenders in recent days, said a person familiar with the private search process. The person did not specify which candidates Pence met with and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Trump is choosing from a list of 25 candidates vetted by conservative groups. Earlier in the week, he spoke with seven of them. Other contenders who have received serious interest include federal appeals judges Amul Thapar, Thomas Hardiman, and Joan Larsen.

The president also spoke by phone with Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah Monday, the only lawmaker on Trump’s list. That call was not characterized by the White House as an interview, and Lee is not viewed as a top prospect.

Republican Senator Ted Cruz of Texas advocated for Lee in a Fox News op-ed, warning Trump not to repeat ‘‘mistakes’’ of past Republican presidents by picking a Supreme Court nominee who turns out to be insufficiently conservative.

Trump’s choice to replace Kennedy — a swing vote on the nine-member court — has the potential to remake the court for a generation. Many Democrats have lined up in opposition to any Trump pick.

Since Trump said his short list includes at least two women, speculation has focused on Barrett, a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and a longtime Notre Dame Law School professor.