INTERVIEW – BYRON YORK – chief political correspondent for the Washington Examiner @ByronYork
- Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announces he is retiring, effective July 31, giving President Trump another SCOTUS pick. Kennedy was nominated by President Reagan and took office in 1988
- With Justice Kennedy retiring, the 2 oldest Supreme Court justices are now both liberal judges: Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 85 and Stephen Breyer, 79 Trump may get to select replacements for both.
- President Trump says process to replace Kennedy on Supreme Court will ‘begin immediately’
- Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell: “We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy’s successor this fall”
- As they approach a new SCOTUS confirmation, Senate Dems will rue the day fmr Senate Dem Ldr opened Pandora’s Box w/the “nuclear option” in Nov ’13, altering precedent for filibusters for nominees except SCOTUS. Lowered bar to break filibusters from 60 to 51.
- McConnell in 2013, reacting to Reid: “You’ll regret this, and you may regret this a lot sooner than you think.”
- Sen. Ted Cruz: If Trump Needs A Nominee, Mike Lee Would Make A Great Supreme Court Justice
- Sen. Chuck Schumer: “Our Republican colleagues in the Senate should follow the rule they set in 2016: Not to consider a Supreme Court justice in an election year.”
- Democratic Sen. Dick Durbin has called on the Senate to wait to consider Trump’s nominee to replace Justice Kennedy until the new Congress is seated in January. He cited precedent set by GOP Sen. Mitch McConnell’s refusal to hold a vote on Merrick Garland.
