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WASHINGTON – Judge Anthony M. Kennedy announced Wednesday that he would retire this summer, setting in motion a fierce fight against the future of the Supreme Court and giving President Trump the opportunity to consolidate a conservative judicial philosophy about the American legal system for generations.
Judge Kennedy, 81, embraced liberal ideas on gay rights, abortion and the death penalty, while helping conservatives reduce voting rights, block weapons and discourage companies. .
His replacement by a conservative justice – something that Mr. Trump has vowed to insist – is certain to reshape the country's legal landscape and could jeopardize a whole host of precedents on social issues, such as the fact that it is not the same. abortion, where the colleague.
The ideological change caused by the departure of Judge Kennedy could leave Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., himself a reliable conservative appointed by George W. Bush, as the deciding vote of a court whose other judges could soon include four committed liberals and four murderers. hard conservatives.
Judge Kennedy handed a letter of resignation to Mr. Trump on Wednesday afternoon, shortly after a half-hour meeting at the White House, where the president called him a lawyer with "a extraordinary vision and a wonderful heart ".
"Allow me by this letter to express my deep gratitude for having had the privilege of seeking in each case the best way to know, interpret and defend the Constitution and the laws that must always comply with its mandates and promises" . Mr. Trump.
The president promised to immediately start looking for the replacement of Judge Kennedy, saying that he would choose from a list of 25 conservative jurists that he had previously identified as candidates for the next vacancy of the court. In his comments to reporters, the president said he would choose "someone as exceptional" as Judge Kennedy.
The Republican control of the Senate, which must confirm the president's choice for the court, gives Trump the opportunity to win the approval of his choice without any democratic backing. But the Senate's composition could change after the congressional elections this fall, putting tremendous pressure on the president and his party to nominate and confirm a judge by November.
Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the leader of the majority, called on senators to ensure that the presidential candidate will be "fairly considered" without personal or character attacks.
"We will vote to confirm Kennedy's successor this fall," McConnell promised in brief remarks on Wednesday.
But Democratic senator Chuck Schumer, of New York, demanded that the Senate wait to confirm the replacement of Judge Kennedy until the end of the mid-term elections. Mr Schumer noted that Republicans have delayed consideration of the candidate of President of former President Barack Obama in 2016, citing the upcoming presidential election this year.
This Republican tactic actually gave Mr. Trump his first chance to fill the vacancy left by the death of Antonin Scalia. The furious move of the Democrats who accused the Republicans of stealing Mr. Obama's right to hold a seat on the court.
Schumer said that senators should not "consider a Supreme Court judge in an election year," saying that "anything but that would be the absolute height of hypocrisy."
"People are a few months away from determining which senators should vote to confirm or reject the presidential candidate," Schumer told the Senate, "and their voices deserve to be heard now that Senator McConnell thought that They deserved to be heard then. "
Judge Kennedy has long been the deciding vote in many very divided cases. His retirement gives President Trump the opportunity to fundamentally change the course of the Supreme Court.
A person appointed by Trump would most likely create a strong five-member Conservative majority that could endanger abortion rights and expand the rights of firearms.
Kennedy's voting record was moderately conservative. He wrote the majority opinion in Citizens United, which allowed unlimited campaign spending by corporations and unions, and he joined the majority in Bush v. Gore, who handed the 2000 presidential election to George W. Bush. He also voted with the Conservatives of the court in the affairs on the second amendment and the voting rights.
But Justice Kennedy was the leading advocate for gay rights, and he joined the Liberals in abortion, affirmative action and capital punishment cases.
In April 2017, Mr. Trump formally appointed Judge Neil M. Gorsuch to succeed Judge Antonin Scalia, who pbaded away in February 2016, replacing one Conservative judge with another and maintaining the balance of the court's basic powers. .
The replacement of Kennedy J. by a reliable curator would be much more consequent and would make the court tilt sharply to the right.
The bitter 14-month battle over Judge Scalia's siege, during which Republican senators declined to consider President Barack Obama's appointment of Judge Merrick B. Garland, will likely be paler compared to the upcoming bout on the seat of Judge Kennedy.
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