Trump To 'Immediately' Begin Search For New Supreme Court Justice
CHICAGO (CBS) -- President Donald Trump says he will immediately begin his search for a new Supreme Court Justice, working from an existing list of nominees. This comes after Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he will retire at the end of July.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports experts expect the President's pick will shift the high court far to the right for years to come.
"He's been a great Justice of the Supreme Court," President Donald Trump stated Wednesday, praising Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy.
President Trump says he met with Kennedy right before his announcement, even discussing who might replace him.
"I got his ideas on things including I asked him if he had certain people he had great respect for that could potentially take his seat," Trump said.
Kennedy will step down in just over one month, leaving the President and the Senate to fill his seat, likely before the mid-term elections.
"We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor this fall," said U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), despite some Senators, including Illinois Democrat Dick Durbin, requesting it take place after November's vote.
"He's popular with colleagues of all political persuasions," stated former President Ronald Reagan in 1988.
Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1988, Kennedy became known for casting swing votes in some of the nation's biggest cases. He voted for marriage equality and against overturning Roe versus Wade. He voted for abortion rights restrictions and against a handgun ban.
Trump says he will look to a carefully and previously compiled list of 25 possible replacements.
"They're very smart and well credentialed, but extremely conservative potential nominees," stated Carolyn Shapiro, the Associate Professor of Chicago Kent College of Law. "So we're going to see somebody who is not inclined to occasionally vote with the liberals."
Experts say many high-profile cases, like Roe versus Wade, could be brought back to the court. This will be the second Supreme Court pick for President Donald Trump.
CBS News' Chief White House Correspondent predicts Trump will announce a nominee in the next couple of weeks.
