Trump will name his Supreme Court justice early next week - with three conservative judges in the running for Scalia's seat and a battle with the Democrats

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President Donald Trump will appoint a judge to fill the vacant seat on the Supreme Court 'early next week.'

He committed to having a name by the end of this week as he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning. 

'We have outstanding candidates and we will pick a truly great Supreme Court justice,' Trump said.

The president called a meeting with Senate leaders from both sides of the political divide this afternoon to get 'input on what they want' and 'any ideas that they have,' the White House said before the gathering.

Little appeared to change, despite the listening session, however, with Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, vowing once again to fight any nominee he considers 'outside of the mainstream.' 

He did not single out a specific candidate off Trump's initial list, which had 21 names, as more or less 'mainstream.'

The president's reportedly whittled that down, already. Three, male appeals court judges are said to be favored as his pick.

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President Donald Trump will appoint someone to filafl the vacant seat on the Supreme Court 'early next week.' He committed to having a name by the end of this week as he spoke to reporters in the Oval Office on Tuesday morning

Trump held a closed-door session with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Chuck Grassley, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Schumer and Dianne Feinstein, the ranking Democrat on the Senate panel, this afternoon.

Senators in the meeting gave little away about the discussion afterward in their respective statements about Trump's thinking on the matter, but the discussion appeared to center on their respective interpretations of values and rulings that are within the 'mainstream.' 

Grassley said Trump's entire list of possible nominees fit the definition. Schumer's repeated emphasis on the standard suggests that by his standards they didn't. 

The court has been operating with an even number of justices, eight, since conservative judge Antonin Scalia's death in February of 2016. 

Republicans prevented Barack Obama's nominee, Merrick Garland of the U.S. Court of Appeals from the District of Columbia, from getting a hearing or a vote as they hunkered down and hoped for a favorable result in the presidential election.

The vacancy became a wedge issue that motivated conservatives who didn't like Trump to get behind him rather than allow the bent of the court to become progressive. 

Even before he was elected, Trump put out a definitive list of 21 candidates he would consider putting on the high court in Scalia's place.

It included Utah Sen. Mike Lee, Neil Gorsuch of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals, William Pryor of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, Thomas Hardiman of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 

Lee said through a spokesman at the time that he was uninterested, and Trump has since whittled the list down to the other three - Gorsuch, Pryor and Hardiman - the Associated Press reported. Each one of them is white and male.

The LA Times says Trump has already settled on Gorsuch, despite the White House's claim that today's meeting will senators would be a listening session.

NEXT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE? Neil Gorsuch of the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals is said to be leading Trump's short list

If Trump is closing in on someone, Grassley, didn't say so after White House meeting on Tuesday. 

'I told the President that he made a very good start with his list of 21 widely respected and mainstream judges,' he said. 'I’m looking forward to learning who President Trump selects and the confirmation process ahead.'

Schumer has refused to comment publicly on specific names from Trump's larger list but has said more than once before today that Senate Democrats will oppose anyone they consider to be 'out of the mainstream' without explaining exactly what that is.

'I'm hopeful that President Trump may nominate someone who is mainstream and could get bipartisan support,' Schumer told CNN on Sunday. 'But if they don't, yes, we will fight it tooth and nail, as long as we have to.'

He said in a statement Tuesday night at the conclusion of his meeting with Trump, 'As I’ve said many times, I believe the President should pick a mainstream nominee who could earn bipartisan support for the vacant Supreme Court seat. 

'I reiterated that view in our meeting today, and told him that Senate Democrats would fight any nominee that was outside of the mainstream.'

NEXT SUPREME COURT JUSTICE? William Pryor of the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and Thomas Hardiman of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals are also said to be on Trump's shortlist

At a briefing with reporters earlier in the day Trump's spokesman, Sean Spicer, said Trump would without a doubt 'appoint justices who protect our liberty and hold the highest regard for our Constitution.'

'He continues to carefully consider potential future justices based on their commitment to upholding these principles.'

Grassley later said he's looking for Trump to appoint someone who will 'adhere to the law and the Constitution. 

'They must be committed to following the law, not making the law,' the Republican senator said.

The White House cast the meeting with lawmakers today as an 'important opportunity for the president to consult with Senate leaders from both sides of the aisle on his potential choices for the bench.'

'The idea is to hear their input on what they want, how far he wants to extend himself on where he is on his thought process,' Spicer had said. 'But I think he wants to hear what they're looking for in a judge, maybe any ideas that they have.'

Republicans hold 52 seats in the Senate, and they'll need every vote, plus eight more, to put Trump's nominee on the court unless McConnell abandons Senate tradition and does away with rules that require 60 votes for Supreme Court appointments.

Spicer wouldn't say on Tuesday whether Trump would encourage the Senate leader to take that position.

'I think that he's going to appoint a quality associate justice that hopefully will achieve overwhelming support,' he said. 

'His goal is that he's going to choose someone who hopefully I think everybody recognizes is a jurist that's gonna adhere to the Constitution, and not legislate from the bench, that [should] achieve bipartisan support.'

Pressed for Trump's thoughts on McConnell embracing what's known as the 'nuclear option,' the White House spokesman said, 'I think we're early in this process. He's gonna hear from them tonight.' 

This morning Trump told reporters he'd was moving quickly.

'I’ll be making my decision this week, and we’ll be announcing next week,' he said, offering somewhat vague timing.

Spicer later said Trump would have a name 'by end of the week and an announcement early next week' following his talk with senators today.