Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court, ending a career on the court that spanned just over 30 years and creating a second vacancy on the Supreme Court for President Trump.

The retirement will be effective July 31, according to a letter Kennedy sent to Trump.

"For a member of the legal profession it is the highest of honors to serve on this court," Kennedy wrote in his letter.
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Kennedy celebrated his 30th anniversary on the Supreme Court in February, and as he nears 82, his retirement has frequently been the subject of speculation.

Kennedy’s retirement ensures the court will shift to the right, as Trump has vowed to pick nominees who are in the mold of the late Justice Antonin Scalia. Conservatives said Trump’s first pick, Justice Neil Gorsuch, fulfilled that promise.

Trump told reporters following Kennedy's announcement his pick to fill the seat will likely come from his list of 25 prospective candidates. Twenty-four of those on the list are federal and state judges and the 25th is Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah. The president first released his list of possible nominees to the high court during the 2016 election, and in November, it grew to 25.

[Also read at the link below: Mitch McConnell says the Senate will vote this fall on a new justice]

The president praised Kennedy, saying he has displayed "tremendous vision" and a "tremendous heart." The search for Kennedy's replacement will begin "immediately," he said.

"I just want to thank Justice Kennedy for the years of tremendous service," Trump said. "He's a very spectacular man, really a spectacular man, and I know that he will be around hopefully for a long time to advise."

Kennedy visited the White House for roughly 30 minutes Tuesday, Trump said, and the two had a "deep discussion," including on possible successors.

Kennedy's retirement is also likely to stoke fears from Democrats that the Supreme Court could overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark 1973 ruling that granted women the right to an abortion, once another Trump nominee is in place.

Kennedy is a native of Sacramento, Calif., who served on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and was nominated by President Ronald Reagan to the Supreme Court in 1987 at the age of 51. He took his seat on the Supreme Court in February 1988.

Across his three decades on the bench, Kennedy has become the court’s swing vote, a position that was solidified after Justice Sandra Day O’Connor retired in 2006.

Kennedy, a devout Catholic, has sided with the liberal wing of the bench in cases on affirmative action and abortion and became a crusader of LGBT rights. In 2015, he authored the majority opinion in the landmark case Obergefell v. Hodges, which legalized same-sex marriage.

more here: https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/courts/justice-anthony-kennedy-to-retire-from-supreme-court