Trump hit it off with Hardiman, aides said, and he views Barrett as a solid contender should he get a third Supreme Court nomination.
Trump nonetheless helped stoke anticipation by interviewing a trio of other contenders, Judges Raymond Kethledge Amy Coney Barrett, a favorite among anti-abortion groups and Thomas Hardiman, the runner-up to Trump’s first pick for the high court, Neil Gorsuch, another Kennedy clerk. But Kennedy, in leaving the impression with Trump that Kavanaugh would be a great candidate for the job, helped the president make up his mind. What was listed as a deal-breaker to some on the right - his long paper trail - was actually the thing that drew Trump to Kavanaugh.Īdministration officials said Trump was taken with Kavanaugh even before his conversation with Kennedy.
Trump, who spent more time with Kavanaugh than the other finalists, was impressed with the judge’s credentials, long judicial record and fidelity to the Constitution, according to administration officials. So even as Trump dispatched his top lawyers to comb though Kavanaugh’s rulings and quizzed allies about whether he was too close to the Bush family, potentially a fatal flaw, the president was always leaning toward accepting Kennedy’s partiality for Kavanaugh while preserving the secret until his formal announcement, sources with knowledge of his thinking told POLITICO.
