President Donald Trump said he interviewed four Supreme Court candidates on Monday to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy, telling reporters he would be making a decision in the coming days.
“I interviewed and met with four potential justices of our great Supreme Court. They are outstanding people they are really incredible people in so many different ways. Academically, in every way," Trump said.
While he would not say who he spoke with today, Trump said he plans to meet with two or three more candidates and intends to make a decision over the next few days, before next Monday’s announcement.
The president told reporters Friday that his choice will likely be made from a previously released list of 25 potential nominees.
"I think the person who is chosen will be outstanding," he added.
Trump predicted that the fight over his eventual Supreme Court nominee to fill Justice Anthony Kennedy's seat will be "vicious," but that the Republican-controlled Senate will be able to confirm his pick before the midterm elections.
"It’s probably going to be vicious because the other side, all they can do is obstruct and resist," Trump said in an interview with Fox Business that aired Sunday. "But I think it's going to go actually very quickly if I pick the right person."
In the same interview, which was taped Friday at the White House, the president said that he has been advised not to ask potential nominees about where they stand on Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling on abortion.
Still, Trump did not rule out the idea that his eventual pick could be instrumental in a future ruling that either reverses or guts Roe v. Wade, leaving it up to states whether to allow abortion.
"You never know how that’s going to turn out," Trump said. "That’s a very complex question. The Roe v. Wade is probably the one that people are talking about in terms of having an effect, but we’ll see what happens. But it could very well end up with states at some point."