New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie remains on the short list in Donald Trump’s search for a running mate and privately met with the attorney leading the candidate’s vetting effort on Saturday, according to two people familiar with the process.

During that meeting, the people said, attorney A.B. Culvahouse Jr. and Christie discussed the Republican governor’s record, including the bridge-closing scandal that has rocked Christie’s administration and other issues that could become flashpoints should he be tapped by the real estate mogul.

The two people informed of the meeting requested anonymity in order to speak about Culvahouse’s recent activities, which have been closely guarded.

A Trump spokesman declined to comment, citing the campaign’s policy of not commenting on the vice-presidential search. Christie’s official spokesman referred The Washington Post’s inquiry to the Trump campaign. Culvahouse was unreachable.

The session, which took place at an unknown location, was described by a third person, a Trump ally, as an informal interview that was the last part of Christie’s vetting. That person said that Indiana Gov. Mike Pence and Christie are now the favorites to be selected in the coming days by the presumptive Republican nominee, with Pence the more likely selection.

Still, the person said, Trump and Christie have a strong rapport and are more personally close than Pence and Trump, and that dynamic has lifted Christie in the search.

Others mentioned as possibilities by Trump associates, such as former House speaker Newt Gingrich and retired Lt. Gen Michael Flynn, remain well-liked by Trump but are not seen as leading candidates.

Notably, each person who spoke Monday with The Washington Post cautioned that Trump is liable to change his mind and was undecided over the weekend as he socialized with friends and donors in the New York area.

Culvahouse, a longtime Republican lawyer, previously vetted vice-presidential prospects for Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who in 2008 selected then-Alaska governor Sarah Palin.

In an interview Monday with The Washington Post’s Chris Cillizza, Trump signaled that he is leaning toward an elected official who could help him unite the GOP around him, in particular members of the party’s wary political class.

Trump said he has “such great respect for the general” but “going political is an important thing.”

“I don’t need two anti-establishment people,” Trump added, further hinting that he is unlikely to select a political outsider.

(c) 2016, The Washington Post · Robert Costa