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President Trump sought to mine a last bit of drama from his decision on a Supreme Court nominee on Sunday, saying he might need to extend the process well into Monday, just hours before he is scheduled to announce the pick in a prime-time address. “I’m very close to making a decision,” Mr. Trump said on Sunday afternoon as he boarded Air Force One to return to Washington after a weekend spent golfing at his private club in Bedminster, N.J., and soliciting opinions from dozens of people about what he should do. (Haberman, Liptak and Schmidt, 7/8)

All four of President Trump’s candidates for the Supreme Court are white, middle-aged federal appeals court judges with reliably conservative legal records. One of them, Brett M. Kavanaugh, went to the same high school as Mr. Trump’s last nominee, Neil M. Gorsuch — Georgetown Preparatory School, outside Washington. Another, Raymond M. Kethledge of the Sixth Circuit, so resembles Justice Gorsuch in background, philosophy, hobbies — both are outdoorsmen who like fishing — and even physical appearance, that some conservatives have taken to calling him “Gorsuch 2.0.” (Landler and Haberman, 7/6)

Judge Kavanaugh had been a front-runner as late as Saturday, but the fact that Mr. Trump hadn’t settled on him suggested his front-runner status may have slipped by Sunday, several people familiar with the search said. (Nicholas and Radnofsky, 7/8)

One of the leading contenders for the Supreme Court, D.C. Circuit Judge Brett Kavanaugh, could see his chance at the nomination hinge on his handling of a legal battle last year over a 17-year-old immigrant's request for an abortion. To Kavanaugh's backers, his role in the legal showdown that played out over a couple of weeks last October exhibits the kind of judicial restraint conservatives have long called for from members of the bench. (Gerstein, 7/6)

Raymond Kethledge, one of President Trump’s finalists for the U.S. Supreme Court, has never explicitly stated his views on abortion or same-sex marriage. But he has spoken loudly on an issue that is just as important to conservative court-watchers. In April, Kethledge ruled in favor of Cathedral Buffet, a church-run Ohio restaurant being sued by the government because of claims that congregants were “spiritually coerced” by their pastor to work without pay. Kethledge went further than his fellow judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit in arguing that the restaurant’s Christian affiliation shielded it from federal labor laws. (Goldstein, 7/7)

Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, told President Trump this past week that Judges Raymond M. Kethledge and Thomas M. Hardiman presented the fewest obvious obstacles to being confirmed to replace Justice Anthony M. Kennedy on the Supreme Court, according to Republican officials briefed on the conversation. While careful not to directly make the case for any would-be justice, Mr. McConnell made clear in multiple phone calls with Mr. Trump and the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, that the lengthy paper trail of another top contender, Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, would pose difficulties for his confirmation. (Haberman and Martin, 7/7)

The four judges believed to be in the running to be President Donald Trump’s next nominee to the Supreme Court “are all winners,” Sen. Lindsey Graham said Sunday, and will present a “nightmare” decision for red-state Democrats in the Senate. “Republicans are holding four lottery tickets and all of them are winners,” the South Carolina Republican, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, told “Fox News Sunday.” “If you’re a conservative Republican, the four people named — particularly Thomas Hardiman, I'm glad he’s on the list — are all winners and every Republicans should embrace these picks.” (Nelson, 7/8)

As the clock ticks on President Donald Trump’s choice for a Supreme Court vacancy, each of the four people under close consideration could move the court in a more conservative direction for decades. “Republicans are holding four lottery tickets, and all of them are winners,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) said Sunday in a Fox News interview. Here’s a look at the top contenders. (Kendall and Bravin, 7/8)