With Judge Gorsuch poised to take Merrick Garland’s seat on the Supreme Court, those hankering for a jurisprudence more closely tied to the Third World hellscape of originalism are already eagerly anticipating the next seat they’ll get to replace. While all eyes are on Ruth Bader Ginsburg — who is not dead — the right wing also has high hopes that the Court’s longest-serving justice, the occasionally moderate Anthony Kennedy, might step aside for them.
There was some speculation that he might do just that if Hillary Clinton had found enough illegal voters in Pennsylvania to prevail in November. His lackadaisical approach to hiring clerks seemed to confirm it. The Court denied this, of course — because honestly what was Kennedy going to say, “Yeah I wanted to retire, but not with this nut job in charge”?
Actually, maybe Kennedy would say something like that.
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Shane Goldmacher of Politico highlighted this Kennedy statement:
Does Anthony Kennedy sound like he wants to hand control of his Supreme Court seat to President Trump? https://t.co/tZ6ttRgMfb pic.twitter.com/FXsPfHATNX
— Shane Goldmacher (@ShaneGoldmacher) February 15, 2017
The statement was made during a summit on civic education in California schools covered by the Sacramento Bee. As one might expect of a guy who pushed back against rumors of his own retirement, Kennedy was quick to offer a half-hearted distancing from his own comments:
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Kennedy emphasized that his remarks were not a reference to “recent political events or even to political dialogue” – perhaps a nod to how they might be construed to implicate President Donald Trump, who has been criticized for his personal attacks of opponents, like the “so-called judge” who ruled against his travel ban executive order last week.
Sure it isn’t.
Looks like conservatives might want to start checking in on Breyer’s health.
Anthony Kennedy worries that civic discourse has become too ‘hostile’ and ‘divisive’
Earlier: Anatomy Of A Rumor: On Justice Kennedy’s ‘Retirement’ Next Year
The Future Of The Supreme Court Rests On One Person’s Shoulders
Joe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.