Trump thinks longterm on Supreme Court

FARGO: President Donald Trump said yesterday he wants to pick a US Supreme Court nominee who will serve on the court for four decades.

‘‘We have to pick one that’s there for 40 years, 45 years,’’ he told a rally in Fargo, North Dakota, hours after Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement.

Kennedy, who turns 82 in July and is the secondoldest justice on the ninemember court, has become one of the most conse quential American jurists since joining the court in 1988 as an appointee of Republican President Ronald Reagan. A traditional conservative, he advanced gay rights, buttressed abortion rights and erased political spending limits.

His retirement on July 31, gives Trump a second Supreme Court appointment in his 17 months in office after the Republican president last year selected Neil Gorsuch, who has become one of the most conservative justices.

Kennedy, mildmannered and professorial, sometimes joined the liberal justices on key rulings, earning a reputation as the court’s ‘‘swing’’ vote who heartened conservatives and liberals alike, depending on the issue.

His retirement sets the stage for a major showdown in the Republicanled US Senate over the confirmation of Trump’s eventual pick for the lifetime appointment to replace Kennedy, all coming before November elections in which Democrats are seeking to seize control of Congress from Trump’s Republicans.

‘‘I’m very honoured that he chose to do it during my term in office because he felt confident in me to make the right choice and carry on his great legacy,’’ Trump said of Kennedy.

Trump said he would begin the selection process with a list of 25 conservative candidates.

His list was assembled with the input of conservative legal activists who also touted for Gorsuch.