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Justice Anthony M. Kennedy announced on Wednesday that he would retire this summer, setting in motion a furious fight over the future of the Supreme Court and giving President Trump the chance to put a conservative stamp on the American legal system for generations. (Shear, 6/27)

Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s decision to retire, giving President Trump another opportunity to carry out his vow to select Supreme Court nominees who would “automatically” overturn Roe v. Wade, threatens to imperil the 1973 decision that established the constitutional right to have an abortion. The move also promised to reshuffle the landscape for reproductive rights in the United States, setting the stage for a bitter political and legal struggle that could affect generations of women. (Hirschfeld Davis, 6/27)

Anti-abortion groups see the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kenned, announced Wednesday, as their best shot in decades to overturn Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that legalized abortion nationwide. “Justice Kennedy’s retirement from the Supreme Court marks a pivotal moment for the fight to ensure every unborn child is welcomed and protected under the law,” said Susan B. Anthony List president Marjorie Dannenfelser. (Hellmann, 6/27)

Anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony List (SBA List), whose grassroots effort to drive the anti-abortion vote is seeking to bring out 2 million votes in key Senate races of vulnerable Democratic incumbents, has made an anti-abortion majority court one of its highest priorities. "Justice Kennedy's retirement from the Supreme Court marks a pivotal moment for the fight to ensure every unborn child is welcomed and protected under the law," SBA List President Marjorie Dannenfelser said. "The most important commitment that President Trump has made to the pro-life movement has been his promise to nominate only pro-life judges to the Supreme Court, a commitment he honored by swiftly nominating Judge Neil Gorsuch. SBA List was proud to take the lead in rallying pro-life grassroots support for Gorsuch, and we were thrilled to see those efforts come to fruition as Justice Gorsuch took his place on the Supreme Court." (Luthi, 6/27)

For decades Republicans succeeded where Democrats have failed, in making court nominations a motivating force at election time — turning out religious conservatives with the promise that Republican candidates would support Supreme Court justices opposed to Roe vs. Wade, the decision that guaranteed a nationwide right to abortion. Now, with Trump poised to tip the Supreme Court’s balance decidedly rightward, Democrats’ hope lies in shaking their own voters’ complacency about that 45-year-old ruling. Democratic strategists hope that the pressure to oppose Trump’s nominee over that issue will not only keep the Democratic senators facing reelection in pro-Trump states in the party fold, but also could persuade the two Republican senators who favor abortion rights, Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. (Calmes, 6/27)

Republicans, who hold a 51-49 advantage in the Senate, could confirm Trump’s nominee without any Democratic votes. A potentially pivotal lawmaker, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine, said Wednesday she views Roe as "settled law." “It’s clearly precedent, and I always look for judges who respect precedent,” Collins said.Another moderate Republican, Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, told reporters that Roe "is one of those factors that I will weigh, just as I weighed it with the other nominations that came before us." (Stohr, 6/28)

If the court picks up a new vote hostile to abortion rights, Roe probably won’t be overturned right away, but the court could be given an opportunity to consider a reversal within years. Kennedy’s exit also seems certain to accelerate the erosion of access to abortion by blessing a series of state laws limiting when and where women can terminate a pregnancy. Major changes could also be coming in other areas where Kennedy, an appointee of President Ronald Reagan, has been counted as a crucial vote on the court, including affirmative action, gay rights, voting rights and the application of the death penalty to minors and the intellectually disabled. (Gerstein and Haberkorn, 6/27)

Reaction from groups supporting abortion rights and gay rights was swift following the announcement that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is stepping down, giving President Donald Trump a chance to name his replacement. We compiled their responses. (Chen and Cadei, 6/27)

With the Republican majority already on a 51-49 knife’s edge, senators and strategists from both parties said the clash over the balance of the Supreme Court would immediately overwhelm a campaign that to date had largely revolved around President Trump’s conduct and issues surrounding the economy, immigration and health care. The summer and fall will be consumed by the fight over Mr. Trump’s proposed replacement, and inject a new set of high-stakes issues into the campaign, primarily the prospect of overturning Roe v. Wade, as well as gay rights, voting rights and the rights of workers. (Martin, Peters and Dias, 6/27)

All sides quickly mobilized Wednesday after Kennedy — a singular voice on the court whose votes have decided issues on abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights — sent shockwaves through Washington by announcing his retirement plans. Trump said he would start the effort to replace Kennedy "immediately" and would pick from a list of 25 names that he updated last year. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell declared that the Senate "will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor this fall." (Lucey and Mascaro, 6/28)

Trump praised Kennedy as having been a “great justice” and added, “Hopefully we will pick someone who is just as outstanding.” The president said he would select a nominee from a list he released during the campaign to assuage the concerns of conservatives skeptical over whom he would pick for the court. “We have to pick a great one. We have to pick one that’s going to be there for 40 years, 45 years,” Trump said at a campaign rally Wednesday night in Fargo, N.D. “We need intellect. We need so many things.” (Kim and Dawsey, 6/27)

Here is a look at the 25 people Trump has said he will choose from. (Nussbaum and Gerstein, 6/27)

U.S. Senate Democratic leader Charles Schumer said on Wednesday the Senate should reject any Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Donald Trump who would vote to overturn the Roe v. Wade abortion decision or "undermine" healthcare protections. (Cowan, 6/27)

The fight over President Trump’s intention to replace retiring Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, the Supreme Court’s crucial swing vote, with a reliable conservative immediately became a rallying cry for base voters of both political parties ahead of this fall’s midterm elections. The already-ferocious nomination battle is likely to clarify the choices for voters in Senate races across the country, strategists said, and affect other contests down the ballot. And even if Republicans install a replacement for Kennedy before the November election, the debate is still likely to thrust to the forefront issues that have been largely overlooked on the campaign trail until now. (Rucker and Gearan, 6/27)

It was a dramatic shift for Democrats who had been optimistic about seizing the House majority, if not the Senate. Some of the most dejected responded on social media with obscenities. Others teased a political strategy by warning of severe consequences for health care and abortion rights should Trump have his way. But for Republicans who have feared a massive enthusiasm advantage for Democrats, the sudden vacancy that could shape the court's direction for a generation was nothing short of a gift from the political gods. In addition to a massive dose of energy, the Supreme Court fight is expected to trigger a flood of new campaign cash that will strengthen the GOP's midterm efforts. (Peoples and Barrow, 6/28)

He was often a sought-after vote for both liberal and conservative sides and played a pivotal role in some of the court’s most closely watched cases. Here are a few of Justice Kennedy’s blockbusters. ... The court reaffirmed the central holding of Roe v. Wade granting women the constitutional right to abortions. Justice Kennedy co-authored the court’s opinion along with Justices Sandra Day O’Connor and David Souter. “Abortion is a unique act. It is an act fraught with consequences for others: for the woman who must live with the implications of her decision; for the persons who perform and assist in the procedure; for the spouse, family, and society which must confront the knowledge that these procedures exist, procedures some deem nothing short of an act of violence against innocent human life; and, depending on one’s beliefs, for the life or potential life that is aborted. Though abortion is conduct, it does not follow that the State is entitled to proscribe it in all instances. That is because the liberty of the woman is at stake in a sense unique to the human condition, and so, unique to the law.” (Palazzolo, 6/28)