NOMINATIONS/SUPREME COURT/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump has settled on a nominee for Supreme Court hours before a scheduled announcement, as some advocates prepared for the rollout of Judge Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania. Allies of Judge Hardiman said they had been told to be ready to start touting the one-time taxi driver’s blue-collar roots, in hopes this would resonate with Mr. Trump’s supporters, according to a person familiar with the matter. They also said they’d been told the judge was in Washington, D.C., for a conference. It wasn’t immediately clear if backers of other candidates to replace the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy —chiefly, Judge Brett Kavanaugh, of the District of Columbia Circuit—had been told to prepare also. Mr. Trump had reached the decision as of noontime in advance of a scheduled 9 p.m. ET announcement, a White House official said. About an hour later, the White House said that former Republican Sen. Jon Kyl of Arizona, a longtime member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, would guide Mr. Trump’s pick through the confirmation process in the role of ‘sherpa.’”
-Peter Nicholas and Louise Radnofsky, “Trump Settles on Supreme Court Selection, but Mum for Now,” The Wall Street Journal, July 9, 2018 4:20 pm