WASHINGTON – President Trump added five names Friday to his list of potential Supreme Court justices in a move that precedes the possible, but still unannounced, retirement of Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy.

The biggest new name was that of Brett Kavanaugh, a judge on the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Many Supreme Court justices have come from that circuit, and Kavanaugh tops the list of judges most often named as Trump's next pick.

Like Justice Neil Gorsuch of Colorado, who was confirmed to the high court in April, Kavanaugh is a conservative who once clerked for the more moderate Kennedy. When Trump selected Gorsuch for the late Justice Antonin Scalia's empty seat, it was viewed as a move that might entice Kennedy, 81, to step down.

"The president remains deeply committed to identifying and selecting outstanding jurists in the mold of Justice Gorsuch," the White House said in a statement. "These additions, like those on the original list released more than a year ago, were selected with input from respected conservative leaders."

The White House released the list on the second day of the conservative Federalist Society's annual meeting in the nation's capital, a confab that attracts many of the nation's leading conservative legal thinkers. It appeared to come out of the blue; no Supreme Court vacancies are known to be imminent.

“There’s no inkling of any vacancy, but the fact of the matter is that you would be foolish to wait for one,” said Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society and a top adviser to the White House on judicial nominations. "You never know when there will be a vacancy.”

The move also was a not-so-subtle signal to Trump’s core supporters that the president may still have the ability to deliver on his promise to nominate conservative justices. It comes amid ongoing confirmation battles over his lower court nominees.

Trump has won confirmation of eight appellate judges in his first year, more than any president since Richard Nixon, despite nearly unanimous opposition from Democrats.

Another possible motive: Democrats have increased their likelihood of picking up a Senate seat in Alabama, where Republican Roy Moore is embroiled in a sexual harassment controversy. Republicans now have 52 votes in the Senate and would need at least 50 to confirm a new justice, with the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Pence.

The other new names on Trump's list are Amy Coney Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor just confirmed last month to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit; Kevin Newsom, confirmed in August to a seat on the 11th Circuit court of appeals; Georgia Supreme Court Justice Britt Grant, a former state solicitor general; and Oklahoma Supreme Court Justice Patrick Wyrick, also a former state solicitor general.

Aside from Kavanaugh, Barrett was the most notable addition to Trump's original list of 20 judges and one U.S. senator, Mike Lee. She drew sharp questions about her Catholic faith from Democrats during her confirmation hearings, prompting Republicans to complain about "Catholic bigotry."

Kavanaugh was left off the original list of 21 in part because his jurisdiction is Washington, D.C., and Trump was elected as an outsider. When Trump's first two lists were released last year, totaling 21 names, they tilted heavily toward judges from "red" states, including many state Supreme Court judges with no federal court experience.

One name that remained missing from the president's new list of 25 is former U.S. solicitor general Paul Clement, another favorite of legal conservatives who worked in George W. Bush's administration and has been mentioned for years as a logical Supreme Court nominee for a Republican president.

Trump's choices won instant acclaim from conservatives.

"These men and women have spent years in the trenches of state and federal government fighting for the Constitution and the rule of law," said Carrie Severino, general counsel at the Judicial Crisis Network. "They represent a diverse range of backgrounds, including both state and federal judges, three who were former state solicitors general with first-hand experience protecting our constitutional balance of powers.”

Liberals were not impressed.

"It’s obvious that any of these nominees, if they replaced Justice Kennedy on the Supreme Court, would demolish large portions of his legacy," said Marge Baker, executive vice president of People for the American Way. "Trump’s nominees all fit the same pattern: narrow-minded elitists who protect corporations and the wealthy over the rights of all Americans."