Justice Kennedy Announces Retirement, Trump to Fill Supreme Court Vacancy

Justice Anthony Kennedy ― the Supreme Court’s longtime swing vote ― announced his retirement effective July 31 as the Court concluded its 2017-18 term today. The vacancy will give President Donald Trump the opportunity to nominate a second justice to the nation’s highest court, after the Senate used the “nuclear option” to confirm Justice Neil Gorsuch to the bench in April 2017.

Kennedy was nominated to the Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan in 1987 and confirmed the following year. Over his tenure he has been the decisive vote in a number of contentious decisions, including rulings that struck down the Defense of Marriage Act and Obergefell v. Hodges ― which upheld the right of same-sex couples to marry nationwide.

Kennedy thrilled Second Amendment advocates by striking down bans on handgun ownership imposed by local governments. He authored the majority opinion in Citizens United v. FEC, which held that limitations on independent political expenditures by organizations violate those groups’ First Amendment rights ― be they for-profit corporations, non-profits, unions, or other associations.

What’s Next?

President Trump will at some point nominate a successor to the Supreme Court. The nominee will then go through a confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee prior to a confirmation vote on the floor that’d require only a simple majority. Given the timeline of Kennedy's retirement, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has indicated the Senate will look to complete this process before this fall's elections.

In the meantime, the Trump administration will be busy vetting potential nominees, many (if not all) of whom were included in the administration’s list of candidates for the Supreme Court.

Tell your senators what questions they should ask Trump’s eventual Supreme Court nominee using the Take Action button and join the conversation below!

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: Supreme Court / Public Domain)