Justice Anthony Kennedy Retiring From US Supreme Court
WASHINGTON (CBS News/AP) — Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced he will retire.
He notified President Donald Trump in a letter Wednesday, telling him that effective July 31, he would "end my regular active status as an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, while continuing to serve in a senior status."
Kennedy's retirement will give President Trump the chance to cement conservative control of the high court.
The 81-year-old Kennedy said Wednesday he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. A Republican appointee, he has held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights.
Kennedy called it the "highest of honors to serve on this Court," and he expressed his "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."
President Trump says the search for a new Supreme Court justice will begin "immediately." Trump called Kennedy a man "of tremendous vision" and said he hopes the next justice will be "just as outstanding."
Trump said his choice will come from a list of possible nominees that he put out during his campaign and updated last fall.
Here is the letter Kennedy sent to President Trump:
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