Trump to move quickly on Supreme Court nominee

Speaking on the Senate floor shortly after Kennedy announced his retirement, McConnell said he intends to vote on the nomination this year.

Justice Kennedy was a critical swing vote on landmark decisions on things like affirmative action and same sex marriage.

Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court has put the Senate on the cusp of an all-out war over his replacement and thrust an unexpected and hotly contested issue into the spotlight less than five months away from the midterm elections. “We have to pick one that’s going to be there for 40 years, 45 years”. And justices often are cautious about blowing up precedents.

The 81-year-old Kennedy said in a statement he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. They could be emboldened by the prospect of a friendlier court. It could also prove damaging in House races, particularly in suburban districts, including 23 now held by Republicans where Clinton won in 2016.

In February 2016, the sudden death of conservative Justice Antonin Scalia created a vacancy on the nation’s highest court.

A final decision, he said, will be announced July 9.

President George H.W. Bush picked one solid conservative (Clarence Thomas) and one (David Souter) who was not.

“For voters in deep-red states who support Trump, this will be the litmus-test vote for whether you have President Trump’s back or not”, said Steven Law, president of the Senate Leadership Fund, a campaign group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

At a White House event Friday celebrating the tax bill passed in December, Trump appeared to take a small jab at Murkowski, and suggest that going against him could affect his support for her priorities (or not). An uneasy peace descended on the Supreme Court nomination process, and though hearings and votes on Justice Samuel Alito were particularly heated, the nominations of Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan proceeded peacefully.

Krasnoff, of Planned Parenthood, said abortion-rights advocates also will be lobbying senators to vote against any nominee seen as likely to overturn Roe.

“If he picks somebody that’s hardcore on Roe v. Wade or that’s hardcore on repealing healthcare that’s a bigger lift”, Manchin said. He’s never discussed the issue with me. McConnell declared the Senate “will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall”.

Gorsuch’s record on abortion is sparse.

He was among several senators who met Thursday with Trump at the White House.

“I don’t think he’s really changed – he’s been the same chief justice all along – and people who want someone who’s ideologically reliable are sometimes going to be disappointed by that”, Mr. Baude said.

“There is no doubt that the President’s nominee to succeed Justice Kennedy can expect exacting scrutiny from the Senate and that is the standard I will apply in evaluating the nominee”, she said. The organization describes itself as conservatives and libertarians who believe the separation of government powers is central to the Constitution that the duty of the judiciary is to say what the law is, not what it should be.

Aden described Kennedy as having been “all over the map” when it came to abortion. Becerra, the high court ruled that the state of California can not force crisis pregnancy centers to advertise access to abortion to their clients, in violation of the owners’ conscience. George W. Bush did better, appointing two conservatives, Samuel A. Alito Jr. and John G. Roberts Jr.