Obama made no timing commitments to the Utah Republican, but the senator, who has been in the middle of several pitched Supreme Court battles, said: “I’d be surprised if it went beyond this week. … I would think by the end of this week or over the weekend, he’ll nominate somebody. I’m sure they’ve discussed this internally, back and forth for months now.”

White House spokesman Ben LaBolt declined to comment on the president’s timeline, but a pick doesn’t appear to be imminent.