“There is a list that exists,” one former senior Trump White House official said Wednesday. “I don’t know how active the list is being whittled down or whatever, but you can confidently report there’s a list.”

“A lot of these people who would be picked are already people who, in a sense, are vetted, right?” that person added, suggesting Trump had learned from the three Supreme Court nominees he made during his first term. “Most are appeals court-type people, so it’s not like you’re starting fresh on a bet.”

Two Trump confidants told the Washington Examiner the issue wasn’t currently a top priority for the White House and wasn’t routinely raised in conversations with staff.

“People don’t really talk about it,” the second former Trump White House official explained. “You don’t really bring up the SCOTUS thing, so I don’t really know how intensive a process it is.”

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A former Trump administration official added that, despite the prospect of the Senate flipping in November, they had no worries about confirming a potential nominee.

“I’m not concerned. Senators may have differences on any number of legislative issues, but a Supreme Court nomination is a different category altogether,” that person explained. “That’s the Senate’s Super Bowl. It’s one of the defining moments of a senator’s career, and I have every confidence Republicans understand the importance of confirming a qualified constitutionalist.”

White House officials declined to answer questions about who the president was considering to nominate to fill a potential Supreme Court vacancy.

“While we wouldn’t speculate on any potential judicial vacancies at any level, the president is always prepared to nominate highly qualified judges who will uphold the Constitution and the rule of law,” a White House official told the Washington Examiner.

Trump himself addressed the topic Tuesday night in an interview with Breitbart, saying he would be prepared to replace Alito or any other justice who might retire during his term.

“If you listen to people, there are three potential vacancies for various reasons, so I’m certainly prepared,” he said in the interview. “There are a lot of great people out there who would like to have that position.”

Trump heaped praise on Alito, saying he’s the justice’s “single biggest fan,” but conceded he wasn’t sure if he was happy or sad that the retirement story turned out to be “totally fake news.”

“I was in one way privileged to be able to pick somebody that would be — I’d love to pick a younger version of him, but there is no younger version of him,” Trump said, noting Alito’s replacement would likely be on the court for “40 years.”

“There’s nobody that is going to be able to do what he does and do it so well. So in one way I was happy, in one way it was actually sad,” he concluded.

Still, Trump does have a number of potential Republican enemies in the Senate who, if a justice does retire before the midterm elections, could make a quick confirmation incredibly difficult.

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The president successfully primaried Sens. Bill Cassidy (R-LA) and John Cornyn (R-TX) during the 2026 election cycle, and his consistent attacks led Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) not to seek reelection this cycle. Both Cornyn and Tillis serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and should Democrats vote as a bloc against a potential Supreme Court nominee, the president would need every Republican senator, plus Vice President JD Vance’s tiebreaker, to successfully confirm someone to the bench.

At the same time, the Supreme Court could become a wedge issue before November’s midterm elections, with Maine Democratic Senate nominee Graham Platner using Sen. Susan Collins’s (R-ME) votes for Justice Brett Kavanaugh against her in the majority make-or-break Senate race.