WASHINGTON – The White House is paying “very close attention” to rumors that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy may resign from the bench.

“I will never reveal a conversation between a sitting justice and the president or the White House, but we’re paying very close attention to these last bit of decisions,” White House counselor Kellyanne Conway told ABC’s “This Week.”

Monday is the Supreme Court’s last public session before a long summer recess.

Expected this week are actions on President Trump’s travel ban and a decision on a separation of church and state case.

But speculation is swirling that Kennedy, 80, may announce his retirement after three decades on bench.

The President Reagan appointee has been an influential swing vote and his retirement would give Trump his second Supreme Court nomination.

Trump would be looking for a nominee much like his first, Justice Neil Gorsuch, Conway said.

“And I can tell you one thing, just as the president did with Justice Neil Gorsuch, whenever there are vacancies, whenever that happens, he will look for somebody who has fidelity to the Constitution, who doesn’t make up the law as they go along, and somebody who has the judicial temperament and a record that’s beyond reproach, as did Justice Gorsuch,” Conway said.

She wouldn’t say whether Kennedy has been in contact with the president about his plans, but spoke of the White House’s expectations for “the next time” Trump chooses a justice.

“We just hope the next time we can get more than a handful of Democratic senators to vote for our nominee to the Supreme Court and to the federal courts,” Conway said.

“We’d like a lot more cooperation from our Democratic friends. We know obstruction and resistance is their motto. It’s not working.”