Big decision soon: Trump on Justice Kennedy's replacement

United States President Donald Trump on Saturday said that a big decision will soon be made on his highly-anticipated announcement to pick a US Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Anthony Kennedy.

"Big decision will soon be made on our next Justice of the Supreme Court!" he tweeted.

The US President will announce a nominee for Justice Kennedy on July 9.

On July 3, Trump stated that his selection for the replacement for Justice Kennedy will be a 'Home Run'.

Addressing a gathering at the "Salute to Service" event in West Virginia, Trump said the decision taken on Justice Kennedy's replacement would be a "great one".

"I've spent the last three days interviewing and thinking about Supreme Court justices. Such an important decision and we're going to give you a great one. These are very talented people, brilliant people, and I think you're going to really love it. Like Justice Gorsuch. We hit a home run there, and we're going to hit a home run here," The Hill quoted Trump, as saying.

The US President interviewed three potential replacements for Justice Kennedy, a White House statement revealed.

This came after four potential nominees had been interviewed by Trump in the run-up to the announcement on July 9.

Trump had earlier stated that his list of potential nominees, which originally had 25 names, had been narrowed down to five, including two women.

Justice Kennedy, who served in the US Supreme Court for 30 years, has held the key swing vote on high-profile matters such as abortion, same-sex marriage, and capital punishment.

The 81-year-old justice was appointed in 1988 by then-president Ronald Reagan.