WASHINGTON, D.C.
For nearly three decades, Justice Anthony Kennedy wielded the critical swing vote on a polarized Supreme Court, siding with liberals on gay marriage and abortion rights while backing conservatives on campaign finance and gun control. But in a striking decision that could reshape the American legal landscape, the 81-year-old jurist announced his retirement on June 27. In a letter to President Donald Trump, he expressed “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.” Trump has said he will nominate a conservative replacement (two women are on his short list), leaving Chief Justice John Roberts in the ideological center. The nomination process is all but certain to trigger an enormous fight over abortion; Trump pledged to work to overturn Roe v. Wade during his 2016 campaign. “If we put another two or perhaps three justices on,” he said during a debate, “that’s really what’s going to be. That’s what will happen.”
JONATHAN ERNST/REUTERS