Mitt Romney's brain trust meets in Boston to plot 2016 strategy

As Mitt Romney looks increasingly likely to dive into the 2016 presidential fray, CBS News confirms that his advisers are meeting Friday in Boston to chart a path to the White House for a man whose last two bids came up short.

Romney, who ran in 2008 and was his party's nominee in 2012, will not attend the meeting, which was first reported by National Review.

Romney's brain trust, though, will be there in force. The list of attendees includes Romney's eldest son Tagg, top aides like Matt Waldrip and Spencer Zwick, who was Romney's 2012 finance chairman, political advisers Beth Myers, Eric Fehrnstrom, and Ron Kaufman, and Romney's friend (and former business partner) Bob White.

No announcements are expected after the meeting, and there's no word on the confab's exact time or location.

The news is likely to fuel speculation that Romney plans to wade back into presidential politics just over two years after he failed to unseat President Obama in the 2012 election.

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts, met on Thursday with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, whom many believe would be his most formidable rival for the GOP nomination. Neither man has officially declared a bid, but their teams have been quietly moving behind the scenes to shore up support among donors and party bigwigs.

It's not clear what the two potential rivals talked about in Utah - spokesmen for both men have been tight-lipped - but it's likely they won't be able to play nice for too much longer. If both Romney and Bush run, they'll likely compete for the same establishment-friendly contingent of the party.

As Romney nears a decision, National Review reports that many of his most loyal donors have decided to avoid throwing their weight behind Bush or any other potential rival.

"It's been incredibly impressive how many of the large contributors remain solidly committed to Mitt and are prepared to support him in the race," one top Romney donor told the magazine. "What they're looking for is a political strategy that leads to victory in the general election and they'd like to see a strategy that introduces the real Mitt Romney, the Mitt Romney that they know, to the American voters."

CBS News' Steve Chaggaris contributed to this report.