WASHINGTON—President Donald Trump picked a nominee for the Supreme Court hours before a scheduled announcement, and multiple people close to the White House expected the rollout of Brett Kavanaugh, a fixture of the District of Columbia Circuit Court. 
 
 On Monday, Mr. Trump had settled on two finalists and was leaning toward Judge Kavanaugh based on what he saw as an impressive academic pedigree and judicial credentials, one person close to the White House said. 
 
 ... ||||| Mr. Trump has peppered associates with questions about Judge Hardiman. Some close to the president said he found Judge Hardiman’s personal story, offered to him by the judge’s supporters, to be compelling. Judge Hardiman was the first member of his family to graduate from college, and he helped pay for his education by driving a taxi. 
 
 Judge Hardiman has also had an important supporter within the Trump family. He served with Judge Maryanne Trump Barry, Mr. Trump’s sister, on the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, in Philadelphia. Judge Barry recommended Judge Hardiman to her brother last year as a good choice for the court, according to two people close to Mr. Trump. 
 
 Judge Hardiman’s appointment would also bring some educational diversity to a Supreme Court awash in Ivy League diplomas. Judge Hardiman attended the University of Notre Dame and Georgetown University Law Center. 
 
 But Mr. Trump has also said positive things to associates about Judge Amy Coney Barrett, a staunch social conservative, the people familiar with the process said. He spent part of Sunday at his club with the Fox News host Sean Hannity, who favors Judge Barrett, people familiar with their meeting said. 
 
 Mr. Trump also continued to discuss Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh, a former staff secretary to George W. Bush, who was a favorite of the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, and who had been seen as the favorite last week. 
 
 The only judge among the four whom the president appeared to lose much of his interest in was Raymond M. Kethledge. People close to the process said the president had found him likable but comparatively dull. And some conservatives, whose support has guided Mr. Trump’s thinking about the courts, have voiced concern about Judge Kethledge on issues like immigration, with some comparing him to Justice David H. Souter, who was appointed by the first President George Bush and who disappointed some Republicans with his votes. 
 
 Still, Mr. Trump was said to be struggling to get past Judge Kavanaugh’s connection to the Bush family. Mr. Trump savaged Jeb Bush during the 2016 primary, and the president has remained suspicious about the Bushes.
– After a weekend spent golfing at his private club in New Jersey, President Trump told reporters that he was "very close" to a decision likely to determine the direction of the Supreme Court for decades to come. Trump said he plans to make up his mind on a Supreme Court nominee by noon Monday, hours ahead of a televised announcement scheduled for 9pm Eastern. He said all four judges on his shortlist to replace retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy were "excellent." "You can't go wrong," Trump said. Sources tell the Wall Street Journal that Trump's golfing buddies over the weekend included Sean Hannity, who favors socially conservative contender Amy Coney Barrett, a choice that Mitch McConnell has warned against. Sources tell the New York Times that Trump appears to have lost interest in one candidate, Raymond Kethledge, after finding him to be "likable but comparatively dull." Another contender is Brett Kavanaugh, a former Kennedy clerk and former staff secretary to George W. Bush, though insiders say Trump is put off by the Bush connection and by the fact that conservatives fear Kavanaugh is too liberal on issues like abortion. That leaves Thomas Hardiman, who has served with Trump's sister, Maryanne Trump Barry, on a federal appeals court. Former Sen. Rick Santorum tells the Washington Post that his friend Hardiman, who speaks Spanish and drove a taxi while putting himself through law school, "knows how to engage with all kind of people, not just Republicans." Trump tweeted Sunday: "An exceptional person will be chosen!"