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Anthony Kennedy Retires From Supreme Court, and McConnell Says Senate Will Move Swiftly on a Replacement Anthony Kennedy Retires From Supreme Court, and McConnell Says Senate Will Move Swiftly on a Replacement
(35 minutes later)
• Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced that he would retire, setting the stage for a furious fight over the direction of the Supreme Court.• Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced that he would retire, setting the stage for a furious fight over the direction of the Supreme Court.
• President Trump said he would move quickly to name a replacement. He also said his nominee would be drawn from a list of 25 names that the White House issued in November.• President Trump said he would move quickly to name a replacement. He also said his nominee would be drawn from a list of 25 names that the White House issued in November.
• Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said the Senate would vote on a replacement this fall.• Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, said the Senate would vote on a replacement this fall.
• Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the minority leader, called on Mr. McConnell to delay a vote until after the midterm elections. But the Democrats have few options to actually block consideration of a nominee.
Any Democratic hopes that Mr. McConnell might hold up the Senate’s consideration of Justice Kennedy’s successor until after the midterm elections were quickly put to rest. Mr. McConnell took to the Senate floor not long after Justice Kennedy’s announcement to make clear that he expected to begin consideration of a replacement as soon as possible.Any Democratic hopes that Mr. McConnell might hold up the Senate’s consideration of Justice Kennedy’s successor until after the midterm elections were quickly put to rest. Mr. McConnell took to the Senate floor not long after Justice Kennedy’s announcement to make clear that he expected to begin consideration of a replacement as soon as possible.
“The Senate stands ready to fulfill its constitutional role by offering advice and consent on President Trump’s nominee to fill this vacancy,” Mr. McConnell said. “We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall.”“The Senate stands ready to fulfill its constitutional role by offering advice and consent on President Trump’s nominee to fill this vacancy,” Mr. McConnell said. “We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall.”
Mr. McConnell had refused to consider President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland in the run-up to the 2016 election, saying that the Senate would not fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in an election year. That maneuver infuriated Democrats, but Republicans say it was crucial to turning out their voters that fall.Mr. McConnell had refused to consider President Barack Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick B. Garland in the run-up to the 2016 election, saying that the Senate would not fill the vacancy left by Justice Antonin Scalia’s death in an election year. That maneuver infuriated Democrats, but Republicans say it was crucial to turning out their voters that fall.
Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he stood ready to begin considering a nominee to the court as soon as Mr. Trump nominated one.Senator Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the Republican chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said he stood ready to begin considering a nominee to the court as soon as Mr. Trump nominated one.
— Nicholas Fandos on Capitol Hill— Nicholas Fandos on Capitol Hill
President Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office as he met with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal. He told the reporters that Justice Kennedy had “been a great justice of the Supreme Court” and that “hopefully we are going to pick somebody who will be just as outstanding.”President Trump spoke to reporters in the Oval Office as he met with President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa of Portugal. He told the reporters that Justice Kennedy had “been a great justice of the Supreme Court” and that “hopefully we are going to pick somebody who will be just as outstanding.”
At another point, the president said that he intended to choose a nominee from a list of 25 potential candidates that was published by the White House in November.At another point, the president said that he intended to choose a nominee from a list of 25 potential candidates that was published by the White House in November.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York, the Democratic leader, and liberal senators in his caucus quickly called on Mr. McConnell to reverse himself and hold off on considering a nominee until after November’s election. It would simply be consistent with precedent, he said, to let voters choose the senators who will vote on “the most important Supreme Court vacancy for this country in at least a generation.”
“Our Republican colleagues in the Senate should follow the rule they set in 2016: Not to consider a Supreme Court justice in an election year,” Mr. Schumer said on the Senate floor. “Anything but that would be the absolute height of hypocrisy.”
But in truth, as long as they are stuck in the minority, the Democrats have few tools at their disposal to actually block consideration, as Mr. McConnell did as majority leader in 2016. Even if every Democrat voted against the president’s nominee — an unlikely scenario in an election year when a handful of moderates are up for reelection in states Mr. Trump won — they would need a Republican to defect and vote with them. Mr. Schumer called on his colleagues to reject any nominee that would encroach on certain rights Democrats view as sacrosanct.
[Read more political battle brewing in the Senate from The Times’s Carl Hulse.]
“The Senate should reject on a bipartisan basis any justice who would overturn Roe v. Wade or undermine key health care protections,” Mr. Schumer said.
— Nicholas Fandos on Capitol Hill
Shortly after Justice Kennedy’s announcement, the White House released a statement on his retirement:Shortly after Justice Kennedy’s announcement, the White House released a statement on his retirement:
Noel J. Francisco, the Justice Department’s solicitor general, said in a statement that he and the department were “grateful and appreciative for Justice Kennedy’s tireless years of public service in our federal judiciary and on our Nation’s highest Court.”
“His jurisprudence has left an indelible mark and his commitment to our cherished First Amendment freedom of speech will be a legacy for generations to come,” Mr. Francisco said. The solicitor general argues cases on behalf of the federal government before the Supreme Court.
— Katie Benner in Washington