House Counsel Don McGahn, who's supervising the search.

Trump had been going back and forth between Kavanaugh, the favorite of White House counsel Don McGahn, and Hardiman, whom the president's sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, a former colleague of Hardiman's, has pressed him to choose.

The nominee must be confirmed by the US Senate, which the Republican president's party narrowly controls 51-49.

Trump has reportedly narrowed the pool of candidates to four federal appeals court judges.

"She's instilled in me a commitment to public service and a respect for the rule of law that I've tried to follow throughout my career", Kavanaugh said at his 2006 Senate confirmation hearing for a spot on the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

He investigated a Democratic president, served in a Republican WhiteHouse and now is an influential member of what is often called the second most powerful court in the country.

Mr Trump is securing a conservative judiciary for a generation. As a result, Democrats have accused Republicans of stealing a Supreme Court seat.

But Trump appointed Barrett to the Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit just nine months ago, and he may well leave her to gain more experience.

Kavanaugh once served as a Supreme Court clerk under Kennedy. Judge Thomas Hardiman is a USA appeals court judge that The Washington Post reports is a "Second Amendment extremist".

"Throughout legal circles he's considered a judge's judge, a true thought leader among his peers", Trump, who named conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch to the court a year ago, told an applauding audience in