Senate Republicans are privately saying they hope Justice Kennedy announces his retirement in the coming months, before the fall midterm elections, arguing the move would give Republicans something to rally their base as they work to maintain control of the Senate.
While Kennedy, 81, has not directly signaled his plans for retirement, at least one senator has predicted it could come over the summer. Others maintain that confirming a conservative successor to Kennedy, who was nominated by Ronald Reagan in 1988, would be easier while Republicans control the Senate.
Some GOP lawmakers argue that Kennedy should feel comfortable with President Trump’s judgment after he tapped Neil Gorsuch, one of his former clerks, to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia. The vacancy following Scalia's death in early 2016 became a key rallying call for conservatives in elections later that year.
