BERKELEY HEIGHTS, N.J. — President Trump was closing in on his choice to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Saturday, making final deliberations from the privacy of his New Jersey golf club.
Clearly relishing the mounting suspense, Trump tweeted early in the morning: ‘‘Big decision will soon be made on our next Justice of the Supreme Court!’’
The president, who is planning a Monday night announcement from the East Room in the White House, has told reporters that he was focused on four people and ‘‘of the four people I have it down to three or two.’’ He had dinner Friday night with Vice President Mike Pence, who has also been meeting with some of the finalists.
The president’s top contenders include federal appeals court judges Brett Kavanaugh and Raymond Kethledge, with judges Thomas Hardiman and Amy Coney Barrett also considered in the mix.
Starting from a list of 25 names vetted by conservative groups, Trump has also given serious consideration to federal appeals court judges Amul Thapar and Joan Larsen.
The president enjoyed the suspenseful process leading up to his announcement last year that he was nominating Neil Gorsuch for the high court and is hoping to keep the guessing game going until he announces his pick Monday in prime time.
As Trump’s list tightened, there was some internal concern that the president’s options could be narrowed by the public outcry — particularly what had appeared to be mounting conservative reservations about Kavanaugh.
But in recent days the White House has seen the pressure ebb, as Kavanaugh’s defenders — most recently Alberto Gonzales, who served as attorney general under President George W. Bush — have provided balance.
Now, advisers believe, all of Trump’s finalists can earn the support of the president’s party, and ultimately confirmation.
Pence met in person with Kethledge and Barrett while he was vacationing in Indiana earlier this week and met with Kavanaugh at the Naval Observatory on Wednesday, said a person familiar with the process who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Pence has also spoken to Republican senators, including Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky, about the process.
