Justice Kennedy retiring; Trump gets 2nd Supreme Court pick
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy says he is retiring. That will give President Donald Trump the chance to cement conservative control of the high court.
The 81-year-old Kennedy said Wednesday he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. A Republican appointee, he has held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights.
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Trump says he’ll ‘immediately’ begin searching for a new Supreme Court justice and called Kennedy a man of “tremendous vision.”
The president says his next Supreme Court justice pick will come from a previously released list of 25 candidates that he put out during his campaign and updated last fall. That list consisted of the following candidates, according to Ballotpedia.org :
Amy Coney Barrett, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Keith Blackwell, Supreme Court of Georgia Charles Canady, Supreme Court of Florida Steven Colloton, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Allison Eid, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit Britt Grant, Supreme Court of Georgia Raymond Gruender, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit Thomas Hardiman, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit Brett Kavanaugh, U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit Raymond Kethledge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Joan Larsen, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Mike Lee, U.S. Senator from Utah Thomas Lee, Supreme Court of Utah Edward Mansfield, Supreme Court of Iowa Federico Moreno, U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida Kevin Newsom, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit William Pryor, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit Margaret Ryan, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces Amul Thapar, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit Timothy Tymkovich, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit David Stras, Supreme Court of Minnesota Diane Sykes, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit Don Willett, Supreme Court of Texas Patrick Wyrick, Supreme Court of Oklahoma Robert Young, Supreme Court of Michigan
The following is the letter Kennedy wrote to Trump declaring his intent to retire.
My dear Mr. President,
This letter is a respectful and formal notification of my decision, effective July 31 of this year, to end my regular active status as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, while continuing to serve in a senior status, as provided in 28 U.S.C 371 (b).
For a member of the legal profession it is the highest of honors to serve on this Court. Please permit me by this letter to express my 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.
Respectfully and sincerely,
Anthony M. Kennedy
