--- title: Trump 'Honored' Justice Kennedy Retiring During His Term description: President Trump said that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy made the decision to retire because Trump would choose the right replacement canonical: https://time.com/5324529/donald-trump-anthony-kennedy-supreme-court/ author: Eli Meixler article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-28T03:59:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T20:42:35.884Z article:section: Politics og:title: President Trump 'Honored' To Name Justice Kennedy Successor og:description: Trump said Justice Kennedy "felt confident in me to make the right choice" og:url: https://time.com/5324529/donald-trump-anthony-kennedy-supreme-court/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6de2a6eb508c07c4/6989341efb4eac85df896fbf/rtx34ysz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: U.S. President Donald Trump listens as Justice Anthony Kennedy speaks before swearing in Judge Neil Gorsuch as an Associate Supreme Court Justice in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: President Trump 'Honored' To Name Justice Kennedy Successor twitter:description: Trump said Justice Kennedy "felt confident in me to make the right choice" twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt6de2a6eb508c07c4/6989341efb4eac85df896fbf/rtx34ysz.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # President Trump Says He is 'Very Honored' That Justice Kennedy Is Retiring During His Term by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Jun 28, 2018 3:59 AM UTC  President Donald Trump and Justice Anthony Kennedy at the White House on April 10, 2017. President Donald Trump and Justice Anthony Kennedy at the White House on April 10, 2017.Joshua Roberts—Reuters by [Eli Meixler](https://time.com/author/eli/) ## Eli Meixler Jun 28, 2018 3:59 AM UTC President Donald Trump said that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy made the [decision to retire](http://time.com/5323824/anthony-kennedy-retiring-supreme-court-trump/) because “he felt confident in me to make the right choice and carry on his great legacy.” “I’m very honored he chose to do it during my term in office,” Trump told supporters at a campaign appearance in Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday evening. Kennedy, 81, was nominated in 1987 by President Ronald Reagan and served 30 years on the Supreme Court, where he was known as a [centrist influence](http://time.com/5323863/justice-anthony-kennedy-retirement-time-cover/). While he voted with the bench’s conservatives on [campaign finance](http://time.com/46738/supreme-court-mccutcheon-campaign-finance-law/) and, earlier this week, to uphold Trump’s [travel ban](http://time.com/5322191/supreme-court-travel-ban-decision/), Kennedy also sided with the Court’s liberal justices on issues such as [abortion rights,](http://time.com/5323890/anthony-kennedy-retirement-abortion-rights/) [climate change](http://time.com/5324154/anthony-kennedy-supreme-court-climate-change/) and authoring the majority opinion to [legalize same-sex marriage](http://time.com/3937244/supreme-court-gay-marriage-decision/) in 2015. **Read more**: [_How Anthony Kennedy’s Swing Vote Made Him ‘the Decider’_](http://time.com/5323863/justice-anthony-kennedy-retirement-time-cover/) Kennedy’s retirement gives the Trump administration an opening to swing the balance of the court for decades. Trump told the crowd in North Dakota that he would nominate a judge that’s “going to that be there for 40, 45 years.” “Remember this, so we have a pick to come up, we have to pick a great one,” Trump said. “We need intellect, we need so many things.” Trump has already contributed a young, conservative justice to the court: Neil Gorsuch, 50, who is known for his [confrontational style](http://time.com/4961416/neil-gorsuch-supreme-court-term-controversy/) and consistently conservative voting record. Gorsuch was [confirmed](http://time.com/4730746/neil-gorsuch-confirmed-supreme-court-year/) last year after Senate Republicans [refused to hold hearings](http://time.com/4261341/merrick-garland-supreme-court-senate/) on President Obama’s nominee, Merrick Garland. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell [promised](https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2018/06/27/mcconnell-senate-vote-fall-replacement-justice-kennedy/739161002/) Wednesday that a vote on Kennedy’s [replacement](http://time.com/5323869/anthony-kennedy-supreme-court-replacement/) would take place as soon as this fall, according to the Associated Press. **Read more:** [_Why Democrats Want Want to Wait to Replace Anthony Kennedy_](http://time.com/5323962/anthony-kennedy-retirement-mitch-mcconnell-merrick-garland/) Trump told reporters Wednesday that he would select a name from a list of [25 potential nominees](https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-supreme-court-list/) that the White House compiled last year. 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