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BERKELEY HEIGHTS, NJ – President Trump expresses renewed interest in Judge Thomas M. Hardiman, finalist for the vacancy of the Supreme Court last year, while he rejects his decision to replace the Judge Anthony M. Kennedy in the last hours Before his Monday night deadline, three people close to the process said:
All warned that Mr. Trump could change his mind before revealing his choice Monday at a prime time. He said positive things to the associates about Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a convinced social conservative, people familiar with the process said, and he did not rule out Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, former secretary of the staff to George W. Bush. ] But they said they found the personal story of Hardiman J. convincing. Hardiman J. was the first member of his family to graduate from college and helped pay for his education by driving a taxi.
Judge Hardiman also had significant support within the Trump family. He served with Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, Mr. Trump's sister, at the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia. Judge Barry recommended Judge Hardiman to his brother last year as a good choice for the court, according to two people close to Mr. Trump.
Hardiman J. has a conservative court record and less baggage than some of the other suitors. He voted to expand the rights of firearms and to limit the legal challenges of immigrants. But he has not taken a public stand on other legal controversies, including abortion and affirmative action
. Trump would have reduced his options to four potential judges, and Judge Hardiman was a late addition to the group last week. His final status as judge Neil M. Gorsuch last year made his chances low this time around.
The only judge among the four whom the President seems to have excluded is Raymond M. Kethledge. People close to the process said the president had found it friendly but relatively boring. And some conservatives, whose support guided Mr. Trump's thinking about the courts, expressed their concerns about Justice Kethledge on issues like immigration
Judge Kavanaugh, considered the favorite, is still in the running. close to the process said, but Mr. Trump is struggling to break his ties with the Bush family. Trump and Jeb Bush exchanged harsh criticism at the 2016 primary, and the president remained suspicious of Bush.
Judge Kavanaugh was the subject of an intense campaign of criticism by some conservatives, who called his decisions into abortion. and insufficiently conservative health care cases.
Judge Barrett appeals to the president, said the people, as representing a political statement that could galvanize the conservative base. But Mr Trump was informed by some advisers that he could pick her up later, if Judge Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85, left the court.
Senator Mitch McConnell, the highest Republican senator, warned Mr. Trump that Hardiman J. and Justice Kethledge would be the safest choices in terms of confirmation by the Senate, a process that may have to be unfold without any democratic support.
He said that Judge Kavanaugh had left a long record and a judge could give the Democrats a club to slow down the process and prevent the judge from sitting at the beginning of the October session. the courtyard.
People close to Judge Kavanaugh rejected this criticism, saying that it had been included in, but had not been created, the bulk of documents related to his time as staff secretary . But he gave Mr. Trump a possible reason to avoid naming someone with whom he is not completely comfortable.
Supporters of Hardiman J., who turned 53 on Sunday, also say he would be easier to be confirmed that
Justice Kavanaugh would be questioned, for example, about his service to Kenneth W. Starr, the independent lawyer who investigated President Bill Clinton. And Judge Barrett would face opposition from abortion rights groups, given his academic writings, which included skepticism about how Roe v. Wade, the 1973 decision on a constitutional right to abortion, was a constitutional precedent
. bring some educational diversity to a Supreme Court flooded with Ivy League degrees. Judge Hardiman attended the Law Center of the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University.
He left a good impression when he was a finalist last year. "People loved Tom Hardiman," said a White House official at the time. "He was super nice."
On Sunday, Mr. Trump stayed at his residence at his private golf club in Bedminster, N.J., playing golf and taking calls about the imminent Supreme Court appointment. Mr. Trump is expected to announce the decision at 9 pm On Monday, Leonard Leo, one of the president's top outside advisers on the judges, said in an interview on Sunday with ABC's "This Week" that Mr. Trump was aware that his commitment to conservative judges was important to his victory in 2016.
"What motivates the president in this process is that he made the Supreme Court a huge issue in elections, more than any other presidential candidate," said Mr. Leo. "He excited the voters a lot about it, and that was one of the main factors that led to his election and the holding of the US Senate, and he continued that momentum with Neil Gorsuch, and now he has another opportunity to do it again. "
Maggie Haberman reported from Berkeley Heights, and Michael S. Schmidt and Adam Liptak from Washington.
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