Kennedy to retire, bringing shift to Supreme Court
WASHINGTON — Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Supreme Court centrist who for a generation has cast the deciding vote in the biggest cases, plans to retire, giving President Donald Trump a chance to shift the court sharply to the right.
Kennedy, 81, will depart effective July 31, the court said in a statement Wednesday.
Kennedy’s decision to step down offers conservatives the opportunity they have long sought to lock in a reliable five-member majority on the high court. And for them, it comes at an ideal time, since Republicans control the Senate and have voted in unison to confirm most of Trump’s conservative court nominees.
With five solid conservatives, the justices could repeal the right to abortion, expand protections for gun owners, narrow gay rights and strengthen the president’s power to arrest and deport immigrants who are here illegally.
Kennedy’s departure caps what was already one of the most difficult terms for liberals in recent memory, including defeats on issues such as public-sector unions, Trump’s travel ban and voting rights. Unlike previous years, in this term Kennedy rarely partnered with the more liberal justices to form a majority.
His decision to leave at such a sensitive time — almost guaranteeing that the court will now move to the right — will undoubtedly become a key part of his legacy. It could also put some of his own decisions at risk for overturning.
Kennedy met with Trump at the White House on Wednesday afternoon, shortly before making his announcement public, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. He said Kennedy had been “a great justice,” adding that “hopefully we will pick someone who is just as outstanding.” The nominee would come from the list of 25 potential candidates that he had released last year, Trump said.
In a letter to the president, Kennedy expressed his “profound gratitude for having had the privilege to seek in each case how best to know, interpret and defend the Constitution and the laws that must always conform to its mandates and promises.”
The leading candidates to replace Kennedy are Judge Amy Coney Barrett of Indiana, recently appointed to the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Judge Brett Kavanaugh, a staunch conservative and a former law clerk for Kennedy who serves on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit. Another contender is Judge Thomas Hardiman of Pennsylvania, who sits on the 3rd Circuit and was the runnerup last year for the opening that went to now-Justice Neil M. Gorsuch.
Barrett, a former Notre Dame law professor, onetime clerk for Justice Antonin Scalia and a mother of seven, is seen as an especially appealing candidate in
the view of some conservatives who advise the White House. They believe Trump would like to select someone who has strong conservative credentials and comes from the middle of the country. By that measure, Kavanaugh has the disadvantage of having worked in Washington throughout his career, including as a lawyer for President George W. Bush.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday that the Senate hoped to confirm Kennedy’s replacement by the fall. With midterm elections approaching, Republicans won’t want to delay in case they lose the Senate majority in November, which they currently control by only one seat.
But even with Republicans controlling the White House and the Senate, the confirmation process won’t necessarily be a slam dunk, particularly if Trump selects a staunch conservative who opposes abortion.