clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

  • Stream
Neil Gorsuch Is Sworn In As Associate Justice To Supreme Court

Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court

Justice Anthony Kennedy, the longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court, is retiring.

Contributors: Vox Staff

Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring.

Kennedy, 81, on Wednesday announced that he had submitted a formal notification to President Donald Trump that he will retire on July 31. “It has been the greatest honor and privilege to serve our nation in the federal judiciary for 43 years, 30 of those years on the Supreme Court,” Kennedy said in a statement.

Kennedy, the longest-serving member on the Supreme Court, has been the swing vote in many of the court’s most ideologically charged decisions in recent years, including on rulings that legalized same-sex marriage, preserved Roe v. Wade, upheld warrantless wiretapping, blew up campaign finance restrictions, overturned DC’s handgun ban, and weakened the Voting Rights Act.

Vox’s Dylan Matthews has an explainer on his legacy and the implications of his retirement here.

Kennedy said that while his family was willing for him to continue to serve, he wants to spend more time with them. He was nominated by President Ronald Reagan and was sworn in as a Supreme Court justice on February 18, 1988.

41 Total Updates Since
Jun 27, 2018, 2:07pm EDT
  • June 28, 2018

    Republicans are fine confirming a Supreme Court justice in a midterm year because “it’s different”

    By Ella Nilsen and Tara Golshan

    They blocked Obama’s Court pick during a presidential election year — but don’t care if it’s a midterm year.

  • June 28, 2018

    “Strict constructionism,” the judicial philosophy of Trump’s next SCOTUS pick, explained

    By Sean Illing

    We’re not sure who Trump’s pick will be, but here’s what you need to know.

  • June 28, 2018

    A guide to the 9 likeliest picks to replace Anthony Kennedy

    By Dara Lind, Dylan Matthews, and Jen Kirby

    Prediction markets say these nine have the best odds of being tapped by Trump to take Kennedy’s Supreme Court seat.

  • June 27, 2018

    Trump on SCOTUS nominee: “We have to pick a great one”

    By Jen Kirby

    "We have to pick one that’s going to be there for 40 years, 45 years," the president said at a rally on the day Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement.

  • June 27, 2018

    Mike Lee is the conservative favorite to take a seat on the Supreme Court

    By Jane Coaston

    But the senator’s past positions — and views on Trump — might pose a problem.

  • June 27, 2018

    Anthony Kennedy’s role on the Supreme Court transcended Democrat vs. Republican partisanship

    By Li Zhou

    Kennedy announced his retirement on Wednesday.

  • June 27, 2018

    What Anthony Kennedy’s retirement means for solitary confinement and the death penalty

    By Dylan Matthews

    Kennedy has voiced his opposition to both practices.

  • June 27, 2018

    How to fix the Supreme Court

    By Ezra Klein

    The way we choose Supreme Court nominees is broken. Here’s how to fix it.

  • June 27, 2018

    Mitch McConnell’s politics of shamelessness have won

    By Matthew Yglesias

    Nobody likes him, but he’s the most effective politician of his time.

  • June 27, 2018

    It’s time for term limits for Supreme Court justices

    By Lee Drutman

    Anthony Kennedy’s retirement is a reminder that the US is unlike every other democracy in the world.

  • June 27, 2018

    Anthony Kennedy’s retirement is devastating for LGBTQ rights

    By German Lopez

    Kennedy’s retirement leaves a Supreme Court seat open for Trump and Republicans to nominate an anti-LGBTQ justice.

  • June 27, 2018

    A titanic battle over replacing Justice Kennedy looms in the Senate

    By Andrew Prokop

    Keep an eye on the two pro-abortion rights Republican senators.

  • June 27, 2018

    Anthony Kennedy’s retirement puts abortion rights at risk

    By Dylan Matthews

    The departure of Kennedy, long a swing vote on the Supreme Court, is an opening for the anti-abortion movement.

  • June 27, 2018

    Democrats sat out the 2014 midterms and lost the Supreme Court for a generation

    By Ezra Klein

    The lesson of the Democrats’ nightmare: midterms matter.

  • June 27, 2018

    Anthony Kennedy is retiring from the Supreme Court

    By Emily Stewart

    The longest-serving justice on the Supreme Court is stepping down. Read his announcement.

  • June 27, 2018

    America after Anthony Kennedy

    By Dylan Matthews

    What Kennedy’s departure from the Supreme Court will mean for abortion, gay rights, and more.