Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday suggested that first-term Justice Neil Gorsuch could have a "positive influence" on octogenarian Anthony Kennedy's "vote" in this next Supreme Court term, the Washington Examiner reported.
Given that Gorsuch once clerked for Kennedy, Cruz, R-Texas, seems to think the conservative could sway how Kennedy, on the high court since 1988, will vote, the Examiner reported.
"It matters that Gorsuch is there," Cruz said. "I think the most important influence of Gorsuch being there the next year is whether he can have a positive influence on Kennedy's vote.
"Many people think this is Kennedy's last year on the bench, and how he votes this year will matter. And I think Gorsuch may play a very key role in determining that," Cruz said.
Kennedy, 81, has been an enigma to conservatives, given he was appointed to the Supreme Court by Ronald Reagan, but he has sided with liberal justices on several key cases in recent years.
Gorsuch replaced Antonin Scalia on the High Court, a net zero for conservatives on the bench.
A Kennedy retirement during the presidency of Donald Trump, however, would assuredly swing the Court to the right.
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