WASHINGTON, Nov. 17 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Donald Trump has added federal appellate Judge Brett Kavanaugh and four other jurists to his list of potential nominees to the Supreme Court, the White House said Friday.
The most notable new name, Kavanaugh is a judge on the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, and once clerked for Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy.
Kavanaugh, 52, is a conservative, like Justice Neil Gorsuch of Colorado who was confirmed to the high court in April.
The other potential nominees added to Trump's list are U.S. Appeals Court Judges Kevin Newsom and Amy Coney Barrett, Georgia Supreme Court Justice Britt Grant and Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Patrick Wyrick.
"The president remains deeply committed to identifying and selecting outstanding jurists in the mold of Justice Gorsuch," the White House said in a statement Friday.
"These additions, like those on the original list released more than a year ago, were selected with input from respected conservative leaders," the statement added.
The move is viewed as a signal to Trump's supporting base that the president still sticks to his promise to nominate conservative justices amid ongoing confirmation battles over his lower court picks.
In his first year of presidency, Trump has won confirmation of eight appellate judges, more than any of his predecessors since Richard Nixon.
