Justice Kennedy Will Retire at the End of July

Justice Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who provided key votes for same-sex marriage, abortion access, and affirmative action, will retire from the Supreme Court. The retirement is effective July 31, Kennedy said in a letter to President Donald Trump on Wednesday. Kennedy's decision to step down could transform the Supreme Court for generations. Trump will have his second opportunity to nominate a justice and will likely replace Kennedy with a young, conservative jurist. That would create a bloc of five staunch conservative justices who could move the court further to the right and cement a conservative majority for the foreseeable future.

Schumer Demands GOP Use ‘Biden Rule’ When Choosing SCOTUS Justice

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) warned President Trump and Republicans against nominating a Supreme Court justice to replace Anthony Kennedy prior to the 2018 election, and demanded they reject any nominee who would seek to overturn Roe v. Wade. "[R]eproductive rights for women and countless other protections for middle-class Americans are at stake," Schumer said. He demanded that “Our Republican colleagues in the Senate should follow the rule they set in 2016: not to consider a Supreme Court justice in an election year.”

McConnell Aims to Vote on New Justice by Fall

Justice Anthony Kennedy's retirement is setting off a momentous confirmation battle for President Donald Trump's next Supreme Court nominee that is certain to consume the Senate, inflame partisan tensions and shape the outcome of the midterm elections. 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.” Republicans also have a chance to make judicial nominees a top campaign issue, which could help motivate conservatives and evangelicals to vote in November. The playbook worked in 2016 when Republicans rallied around McConnell's successful block of then-President Barack Obama's nominee to the court, Merrick Garland.

Trump Tweets about Strzok’s Closed Door Hearing

FBI agent Peter Strzok earned “poor marks” for his Congressional interview, President Donald Trump wrote on Twitter Thursday, suggesting Strzok was evasive in during his closed-door hearing and declaring, once again, that the investigation into his 2016 campaign is “rigged.”

“Lover FBI Agent Peter Strzok was given poor marks on yesterday’s closed door testimony and, according to most reports, refused to answer many questions,” the president wrote on Twitter. “There was no Collusion and the Witch Hunt, headed by 13 Angry Democrats and others who are totally conflicted, is Rigged!” Strzok spoke Wednesday before the House Oversight and Judiciary committees, which are jointly probing the Justice Department and FBI’s conduct in 2016. His day-long interviews earned mixed reviews from lawmakers, with Republicans left fuming while Democrats mostly shrugged.

U.S.-Russia Summit Date and Location Released

The White House has announced the Trump/Putin summit: “President Donald J. Trump and President Vladimir Putin of the Russian Federation will meet on July 16, 2018, in Helsinki, Finland.  The two leaders will discuss relations between the United States and Russia and a range of national security issues.” On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with President Trump's national security adviser John Bolton for talks to set the stage for a U.S.-Russian summit.

Trump Rallies Support in Fargo

President Donald Trump held a rally in Fargo, North Dakota, Wednesday evening, hoping to help Republicans gain a seat in the U.S. Senate. North Dakota Democrat Heidi Heitkamp is in a tough race to hold her U.S. Senate seat against Republican U.S. Rep. Kevin Cramer. About 6,000 people filled Scheels Arena to roar their support of the President's policies. Trump praised the work ethic and patriotism of North Dakotans. "You are the people who farm the prairie, tame the badlands, and squeeze oil out of rocks," he told the crowd.

Pentagon Asked to House Up to 32,000 Illegal Immigrants on Military Bases

The Pentagon has been asked to find or make room on U.S. military bases for up to 12,000 additional people who are members of migrant families, bringing the total number of beds requested for immigrants who crossed the southern border illegally to 32,000. The latest request from the Department of Homeland Security asks the Pentagon to first look around to see if it has existing facilities that could house “an alien family population of up to 12,000 people.” If there are no existing facilities available, then DHS is requesting the military begin to construct tent cities, to house up to 4,000 people at three separate locations. The camps need to be located in border states Texas, Arizona, New Mexico, or California in order to comply with a court ruling known as the Flores Settlement that requires “reasonable efforts be made to place minors in the geographic area where the majority are apprehended.”