--- description: After Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he will retire in July, Stephen Colbert warned that America is "supremely screwed" title: Stephen Colbert Is Pretty Upset About Justice Kennedy's Retirement image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Television](/tag/television/) ## Television Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # 'We're Supremely Screwed.' Stephen Colbert Is Pretty Upset About Justice Anthony Kennedy's Retirement by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jun 28, 2018 11:58 AM CUT by [Mahita Gajanan](/author/mahita-gajanan/) ## Mahita Gajanan Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Gajanan is an editor at TIME. Jun 28, 2018 11:58 AM CUT Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has announced he will [retire in July](http://time.com/5323824/anthony-kennedy-retiring-supreme-court-trump/ "undefined"), and Stephen Colbert is pretty upset. Kennedy’s retirement announcement on Wednesday has given [President Donald Trump a new opportunity to push the court further in a conservative direction](http://time.com/5324725/justice-kennedy-trumps-court/ "undefined") with the judge he eventually nominates. “This could have huge repercussions,” Colbert said. “Think about it. The court that just this week crippled unions, upheld Trump’s Muslim ban and race-based gerrymandering might turn conservative.” “We’re supremely screwed, Colbert added. Noting that Kennedy said his retirement would be effective as of July 31, Colbert advised people to “enjoy your gay marriages now.” “As of August 1, you’re back to being roommates,” he said. While Trump has a list of potential nominees, Colbert offered one suggestion: Rudy Giuliani, the former New York City mayor currently on the President’s legal team who has recently had several gaffes on news shows. “I could see Trump appointing Giuliani — just to keep him off television,” Colbert said. Watch the whole clip above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5324823/stephen-colbert-anthony-kennedy-retirement-supreme-court/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5324823/stephen-colbert-anthony-kennedy-retirement-supreme-court/"},"headline":"'We're Supremely Screwed.' Stephen Colbert Is Pretty Upset About Justice Anthony Kennedy's Retirement","datePublished":"2018-06-28T11:58:19.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:42:59.124Z","description":"\"The court that just this week crippled unions, upheld Trump’s Muslim ban and race-based gerrymandering might turn conservative\"","url":"https://time.com/5324823/stephen-colbert-anthony-kennedy-retirement-supreme-court/","keywords":["Television","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mahita Gajanan","jobTitle":"Gajanan is an editor at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/mahita-gajanan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/television/","name":"Television"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5324823/stephen-colbert-anthony-kennedy-retirement-supreme-court/","name":"'We're Supremely Screwed.' Stephen Colbert Is Pretty Upset About Justice Anthony Kennedy's Retirement"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy Is Retiring","description":"Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will retire this July, paving the way for a possible confirmation showdown in Congress over President Donald Trump’s eventual pick to replace him.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/2PGIAVBT/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-06-27T19:39:30.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/2PGIAVBT.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5324823/stephen-colbert-anthony-kennedy-retirement-supreme-court/","duration":"PT1M10S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5324823/stephen-colbert-anthony-kennedy-retirement-supreme-court/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```