27 June 2018•Update: 28 June 2018
By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON
Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy announced Wednesday he is stepping down from the spot he's held on America's highest court since 1988, dealing President Donald Trump an opportunity to transform the top judicial body.
Kennedy, 81, has occupied a pivotal spot on the Supreme Court, often wielding the swing vote in major court cases spanning the past three decades. His decision to step down will likely have ramifications for generations.
"For a member of the legal profession it is the highest of honors to serve on this Court," Kennedy wrote in a letter to Trump. "Please permit me by this letter to express my 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."
Kennedy has at times sided with conservative justices on matters of state's rights, gun control and campaign finance but has also backed liberal justice on matters of personal liberties, most notably penning the decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide in 2015.
His retirement will afford Trump his second opportunity to name a Supreme Court justice after the American president nominated Justice Neil Gorsuch to the top court last year following Republican obstruction of former President Barack Obama's pick, Merrick Garland.
For the last 10 months of Obama's presidency Republicans refused to advance Garland's nomination and were forced to change Senate rules in order to advance Gorsuch through the chamber after Democrats returned the favor in the narrowly-Republican-held Senate.
Gorsuch has already been pivotal in several major court cases, including the recent decision to rule as constitutional President Donald Trump's travel ban for five Muslim-majority countries, Libya and North Korea. Kennedy was one of the five justices who ruled in favor on the nine-member court.
Shortly after Kennedy's announcement was made public, the White House hailed him as a "true man of letters" who "authored landmark opinions in every significant area of constitutional law.
"His words have left an indelible mark not only on this generation, but on the fabric of American history," the White House said in a statement.
Trump said he will begin the process to replace Kennedy "immediately," adding he has a list of over two dozen possible nominees.
"It will be somebody from that list," Trump said.
Trump will likely face stiff opposition from Senate Democrats as he prepares to nominate a new justice ahead of midterm elections that could see the chamber fall out of Republican control.
Kennedy said his retirement will be effective July 31.
All eyes will remain on Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who, at 85, is the oldest justice.
