WASHINGTON -- President Trump is gearing up to make one of the biggest decisions of his presidency, naming his second nominee to the Supreme Court.

He has now interviewed at least seven candidates as he decides who will replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy. 

  • 3 believed to be on President Trump's shortlist
  • Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh and Raymond Kethledge
  • President to announce nominee on July 9

According to the Associated Press, the president's top three contenders are Judge Amy Coney Barrett, Judge Brett Kavanaugh and Judge Raymond Kethledge. Unlike some of their competition, all three were Supreme Court clerks. Barrett clerked for Justice Antonin Scalia. Kavanaugh and Kethledge both were protégés of the retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.​

The two appeals court judges are getting the most buzz and scrutiny. Federal Court of Appeals Judge Brett Kavanaugh has ties to two past presidents. He helped investigate Bill Clinton and later served as a top aide to George W. Bush before joining the DC Circuit Court. Some on the right see him as insufficiently conservative because of positions that he has written on Obamacare and abortion.

Amy Coney Barrett, a devout Catholic and mother of seven, could be the youngest justice at 46, if named and confirmed. She’s embraced by social conservatives, focused on issues like abortion and religious freedom. Liberal advocacy groups are launching campaigns in opposition, warning that she could jeopardize Roe v. Wade and the Affordable Care Act.​

"Any nominee that is held for hearings needs to vocalize the personal liberties standard," said Ilyse Hogue, president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. "Not precedent, not settled law. Not no track record. We consider no track record under President Trump's promises a bad track record that will gut Roe," she said. 

Ultimately, the Senate will have the final say and already pressure is building on red state Democrats to oppose any presidential pick. On the other side of the aisle, there are two wild card Republicans, Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, who are pro-abortion rights. However, both senators have voted for every single Republican justice that has come up since they have been in the Senate.