Kennedy, Not Trump, Will Determine Supreme Court’s Future

The announcement of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee will unleash a blizzard of commentary, advertising and social media campaigns aimed at influencing senators and the public. But to win the real battle for the future of the high court, the nomination and the messaging around it should be aimed at the one man who truly matters: Anthony Kennedy.

For while there will — and should — be a fierce debate over the nomination, the outcome of the fight to replace Justice Antonin Scalia will probably not change the court’s balance of power. What could change the balance — dramatically — is if Trump gets to pick another justice, particularly if that vacancy is created by the departure of one of the court’s three oldest members: Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and Kennedy. And since it is very unlikely that Ginsburg or Breyer would voluntarily retire during this presidency, the question of whether a court-shifting pick is willingly handed to Trump rests with Kennedy.

Read more at The Washington Post.