President weighs his top picks

US President Donald Trump has been weighing the strengths and weakness of four leading candidates for the Supreme Court before an announcement today.

He is mulling the likely response of key senators and his core supporters to each prospect, according to White House officials and Trump advisers.

Trump, over rounds of golf with friends, meals with family, and phone calls and meetings with aides, has offered clues about how he sees the four federal judges atop his shortlist: Brett Kavanaugh, Thomas Hardiman, Raymond Kethledge and Amy Coney Barrett.

Hardiman, a runner-up when Trump chose Neil Gorsuch as his high court nominee last year, received a wave of new attention in the weekend discussions, according to two sources. But White House officials cautioned that Trump’s informal conversations did not necessarily hint at whom he would ultimately select for the court, a decision that could tilt the Bench to the right for decades.

Still, Trump has recounted how close he came to selecting Hardiman, who was recommended by the President’s sister, retired federal judge Maryanne Trump Barry. She served with the Pennsylvania-based Hardiman on the US Court of Appeals for the 3rd Circuit.

Previously, the three front-runners have been seen as Kavanaugh, who serves on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; Michigan’s Kethledge, from the 6th Circuit; and Indiana’s Barrett, from the 7th Circuit. All three candidates remain in contention.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, (R), noted to Trump that Hardiman and Kethledge could fare well in the Senate because their reputations and records were not as politically charged as others on the President’s shortlist.

Trump is scheduled to announce his decision at 1pm NZT, and it is unclear how much of the last-minute manoeuvering is geared to keeping the President’s choice a secret.