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 Srinivasan, an Indian-American who served under presidents of both
parties before President Barack Obama named him as an appellate
judge, and Garland, considered but passed over for the Supreme Court
twice before by Obama, are considered the leading contenders,
according to the source and two other sources close to the process.
Obama is searching for a replacement for long-serving conservative
Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on Feb. 13. Senate Republicans have
vowed not to hold confirmation hearings or an up-or-down vote on any
nominee picked by the Democratic president for the lifetime position
on the court.
Senate Republicans, hoping a candidate from their party wins the
Nov. 8 presidential election, want the next president, who takes
office in January, to make the selection.
A formal announcement could come as soon as Monday. That would give
Obama the weekend to think about his final choice and make an
announcement before Tuesday's presidential primary elections in five
states including Florida and Ohio.
 Srinivasan, 49, and Garland, 63, serve together on the U.S. Court of
Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That appeals court has
served as a springboard to the Supreme Court for several justices
including Scalia in recent decades.
Srinivasan, who was born in India and grew up in Kansas, would be
the first Asian-American and first Hindu on the high court. Obama
appointed him to the appeals court in 2013. The Senate confirmed him
in a 97-0 vote.
Srinivasan served in the Justice Department under Democratic and
Republican presidents and worked as a clerk to the first woman to
serve on the Supreme Court, Sandra Day O'Connor, a Republican
appointee.
Garland, who has earned praise from lawmakers of both parties, is
the chief judge of the Washington appeals court, where he has served
since being appointed by Democratic President Bill Clinton in 1997,
winning confirmation in a 76-23 vote. Prior to that, he served in
the Justice Department under Clinton.
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Watford, 48, is a judge on the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals, winning Senate confirmation in a 61-34 vote in
2012. He previously worked as a prosecutor and in private practice.
If confirmed, he would be the nation's third black justice,
following current justice Clarence Thomas, appointed in 1991, and
Thurgood Marshall, who retired in 1991 and died in 1993. Obama is
the first black U.S. president.
It was unclear whether the other two other candidates who had been
expected to be interviewed by Obama, federal appeals court judge
Jane Kelly and federal trial judge Ketanji Brown Jackson, were now
out of the running altogether.
Kelly is a judge on the St. Louis-based 8th U.S. Circuit Court of
Appeals. Jackson is a federal trial judge in Washington. Both were
appointed to those positions by Obama.
Without Scalia, the Supreme Court is evenly split with four liberals
and four conservatives. An Obama appointment could tilt the court to
the left for the first time in decades.
Obama is traveling in Texas, where he spoke at Austin's South by
Southwest festival on Friday and is appearing at Democratic
fundraisers. He returns to Washington late on Saturday.
(Additional reporting by Lawrence Hurley.)
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