With Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement, Trump’s lasting power is amplified
The decision hit like a thunderbolt in
Just as
Kennedy's departure is "the most consequential event in American jurisprudence at least since Bush v. Gore in 2000 and probably since Roe v. Wade in 1973," said
The prospect of a fight over the future of the high court added tension to an already raging public debate over Trump, the looming congressional races, and widening cultural divides.
Trump on Wednesday vowed to nominate a replacement quickly, working off an existing short list of candidates. Senate Majority Leader
The stakes for a single
If Trump replaces Kennedy -- who sometimes sided with the court's liberal justices and swung major decisions their way -- with a reliable conservative, the right could hold a solid majority for a generation to come.
That could very well end up as the most consequential result of a presidency effectively decided by about 80,000 votes in
Kennedy had sided with liberal justices in decisions that protected abortion and established a national right to same-sex marriage.
"I'm worried about Roe v. Wade," tweeted Sen.
With Kennedy's retirement, "reproductive rights and the newly gained rights of LGBTQ Americans lie in the hands of an extremist president," Sen.
Sen.
McConnell argued that in a presidential election year, voters should get a chance to weigh in on such an important appointment.
For many
In choosing Gorsuch, Trump named a conservative to replace a conservative. Now he has the opportunity to replace a swing vote with yet another voice from the right. (Among those who might be in the mix:
"Millions of people are just months away from determining the senators who should vote to confirm or reject the president's nominee, and their voices deserve to be heard now, as Leader McConnell thought they deserved to be heard then," said the
McConnell told reporters at the
But there are 10
Now comes an even more heated political moment, with even greater consequences.
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