President Barack Obama could endorse Hillary Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary as early as this week, according to individuals familiar with his decision-making process.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest would not specify what day Obama would endorse Clinton, who ran against him in 2008 and served as secretary of state during his first term. But he noted even the president said last week “we may have a better sense of where the race is headed” once California and New Jersey primary voters cast their ballots Tuesday.

“Certainly somebody who claims a majority of the pledged and super delegates has a strong case to make” in terms of claiming the mantle of the Democratic Party’s nomination, he added.

“This is rooted largely in his own judgment,” Earnest said, adding that each politician or media outlet needs to decide “which metric they’re going to follow” in declaring who has secured the Democratic presidential nomination.

Referring to Clinton’s chief rival, Sen. Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., Earnest said, “The president has gone to great lengths to try to be hands off” in the ongoing primary contest.

The New York Times reported Monday morning that the president could endorse Clinton in the near future.

Obama is eager to hit the campaign trail, according to several aides, and has already weighed in multiple times on the race to succeed him.

“So the president intends certainly through the fall, if not earlier, to engage in this campaign,” Earnest said. “That’s an opportunity the president relishes.”

Asked by CBS News’ Mark Knoller if Obama was looking to pick a fight with Republicans, Earnest replied, “He certainly is not going to shrink from it, I’ll tell you that.”

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Juliet Eilperin