NOMINATIONS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Signaling he has not yet settled on his pick for the Supreme Court, President Trump on Monday [7-9-18] morning worked the phones primarily seeking input about two judges who are apparently the finalists, Brett M. Kavanaugh and Thomas M. Hardiman, people familiar with the discussions said. Mr. Trump appeared to be going back and forth between Judge Kavanaugh, the favorite of the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, and Judge Hardiman, whom the president’s sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, a former colleague of Judge Hardiman’s, has pressed him to choose. Two other candidates for the seat of the retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy — Judge Amy Coney Barrett and Judge Raymond Kethledge — were not the focus of Mr. Trump’s morning discussions, according to those familiar with the discussions. The drama-focused president is going to announce his choice for the Kennedy seat in a Monday night address to the country at 9 p.m. He said on Sunday [7-8-18] that he hoped to have made a decision by noon on Monday.”
-Maggie Haberman, “Trump Narrows Supreme Court Field as Advice Pours In,” The New York Times online, July 9, 2018