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Washington PostThe White House is pushing back against the notion that President Obama has narrowed his search to a trio of front-runners to fill a seat on the Supreme Court, with several officials saying on Monday that about 10 candidates remain under serious consideration.
In the three days since Justice John Paul Stevens announced his retirement from the court, speculation has centered on three contenders from the last round, including Solicitor General Elena Kagan, U.S. Appeals Court Judge Merrick B. Garland of Washington, D.C. and U.S. Appeals Court Judge Diane Wood of Chicago.
But administration officials say President Obama is still in the early stages of deciding what kind of candidate he prefers, as opposed to a year ago, when Sonia Sotomayor became the early presumptive front-runner to replace outgoing Justice David H. Souter.
This time, Obama is reviewing a larger number of options, including several who were not part of the process last year, aides said. They added that the president had remained consumed with the health-care debate until shortly before Stevens's announcement, making the Supreme Court less of an immediate focus.
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