WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama interviewed federal judge Diane Wood of Chicago on Tuesday for an upcoming opening on the Supreme Court, a person familiar with the conversation said on condition of anonymity. She is the fourth candidate for the job known to have had face-to-face talks with the president.
Wood met with the president in the Oval Office and also interviewed separately with Vice President Joe Biden.
The president appears to be nearing a decision. He has done sit-down interviews in recent days with at least three other finalists: Solicitor General Elena Kagan, federal appeals court judges Merrick Garland, who serves in the District of Columbia, and Sidney Thomas, who is based in Montana.
Among other candidates are federal appeals court judge Ann Williams, former Georgia Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears, Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano and Harvard Law School Dean Martha Minow.
It is not known whether any of them have also met with the president.
Any day now, Obama is expected to announce his choice to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens, who is retiring this summer.
The nominee would then face confirmation in the Senate.
Wood has been considered a front-runner since Stevens announced last month that he would be stepping down. Wood, 59, has served on the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals since her 1995 nomination by President Bill Clinton and smooth confirmation.
She interviewed with Obama when he was considering successors for Justice David Souter and was said to have impressed the president.
He ultimately chose another nominee, federal judge Sonia Sotomayor.
His newest choice is expected to leave intact the ideological balance of the court — four conservatives, four liberals and one swing vote. Stevens leads the liberal bloc.
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