US Justice Kennedy Steps Down Giving Trump Another Appointment

Swing-vote U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said on Wednesday he will retire after three decades of serving on the nation's highest judicial body, giving President Donald Trump an opportunity to take the court even further to the right.

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Appointed in 1988 by Republican President Ronald Reagan, he has been a traditional conservative voice on the court but has also advanced gay rights and abortion access.

His retirement, due on July 31, gives Trump a second Supreme Court appointment in his 17 months in office. Last year he placed far-right justice Neil Gorsuch on the court.

Kennedy served as a key swing vote who heartened conservatives and liberals alike, depending on the issue.

Kennedy wrote the landmark 2015 ruling that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide and has backed limitations on the application of the death penalty.

Yet just this week the veteran justice sided with the court's four other conservatives by upholding Trump's travel ban against several Muslim-majority countries. He also ruled to shut off a key revenue source for unions.

"It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those years on the Supreme Court," Kennedy said in his statement announcing his stepping down.

His retirement sets the stage for a major showdown in the Republican-led U.S. Senate that also needs to confirm Trump’s eventual pick for the lifetime appointment just as November midterm elections approach.

"I'm very honored 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 at a rally in North Dakota on Wednesday night.

Trump said he has 25 candidates in mind, among them Brett Kavanaugh, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington; Thomas Hardiman of the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, and Raymond Kethledge of the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.