BREAKING: SCOTUS Justice Anthony Kennedy To Retire

USA Today reports:



Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring, giving President Trump and Senate Republicans an opportunity to create a solidly conservative court that could last for decades. Kennedy’s long-rumored decision to step down July 31 will touch off a titanic battle between conservatives and liberals in the nation’s capital, on the airwaves, and in states represented by key senators whose votes will be needed to confirm his successor.

Kennedy, 81, has held the most important seat on the court for more than a decade: He is the swing vote on issues ranging from abortion and affirmative action to gay rights and capital punishment, often siding with the court’s more liberal justices. His long-anticipated retirement will come a year after Justice Neil Gorsuch’s confirmation to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia, which followed a 14-month saga that replenished but did not bolster the conservatives’ narrow advantage on the high court.