With the political future of the Supreme Court potentially on the line over the next few years, President Donald Trump is forging a friendship with Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy — who could be the next justice on the highest court in the land to step down.
Politico outlines how Trump has reached out to Kennedy, whose sons know each other through the New York City real estate market.
A mic picked up a brief conversation between the justice and the president after Trump's speech before a joint session of congress in February:
Trump: "Say hello to your boy. Special guy."
Kennedy: "Your kids have been very nice to him."
Trump: "Well, they love him, and they love him in New York. He's a great guy."
Trump nominated Neil Gorsuch to replace the late Associate Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court, and his nomination is now in the hands of the Senate. Republicans may need to invoke the nuclear option to get him confirmed.
In the meantime, the White House has already worked up a list of judges who could be nominated to the high court if another spot opens up. Politico notes that Trump is not pressuring the 80-year-old Kennedy to retire. Instead, he is seeking to reassure him that if he hangs up his robe during Trump's term, his replacement will be a conservative like him who can help shape the court's future.
The White House, reports Politico, is keeping tabs on Kennedy's potential retirement through people who used to clerk for Kennedy. Gorsuch is in that group.
Trump and his team are also working to fill more than 100 lower court vacancies, including the influential circuit courts. That level is often a stepping stone to the Supreme Court, so presidents take great care in appointing judges to it.
Trump "has a chance to put younger people that are going to be on there for 20 or 30 years," Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida told Politico.
The New York Times wrote in February that Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court was likely a signal to Kennedy that it would be safe to retire.
Above the Law reported after last November's presidential election that Kennedy was not planning to step aside in 2017.
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