Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) said Wednesday that the Senate will vote to confirm Justice Anthony Kennedy's successor on the Supreme Court this fall.
Kennedy, 81, announced earlier in the day that he will officially retire from the country's highest court at the end of July. He was confirmed to the Supreme Court in 1988, after then-President Ronald Reagan nominated him for the post.
After Kennedy's announcement, which gives President Donald Trump the opportunity to permanently alter the balance of the court with a second pick, McConnell went on the Senate floor to thank Kennedy for his service and to discuss the chamber's plans for the coming confirmation process.
"First and foremost, I want to pause and express our gratitude for the extraordinary service that Justice Kennedy has offered our nation. He served on the federal bench for 43 years," McConnell said, noting Kennedy's "ardent defense" of the First Amendment.
The top Senate Republican then laid out a basic timeline for when he expects Kennedy's successor to be confirmed.
"The Senate stands ready to fulfill its constitutional role by offering advice and consent on President Trump's nominee to fill this vacancy," McConnell said. "We will vote to confirm Justice Kennedy's successor this fall."
"As in the case of Justice Gorsuch, Senators will have the opportunity to meet with President Trump’s nominee, examine his or her qualifications, and debate the nomination," McConnell said, referring to Neil Gorsuch, Trump's first pick for the high court to succeed the late Antonin Scalia. "I have every confidence in Chairman [Chuck] Grassley's conduct of the upcoming confirmation process in the Judiciary Committee."
McConnell also called for Kennedy's successor to be judged on their own merits and not face personal attacks.
"It's imperative that the president's nominee be considered fairly and not be subjected to personal attacks. Thus far, President Trump's judicial nominations have reflected a keen understanding of the vital role that judges play in our constitutional order," McConnell said. "Judges must interpret the law fairly and apply it even-handedly. Judicial decisions must not flow from judges' personal philosophies or preferences, but from an honest assessment of the words and actual meaning of the law."
In recent years, Kennedy has been a "swing vote" on the Supreme Court, which after his retirement will be composed of four liberals and four conservatives. Whoever Trump nominates to replace Kennedy is expected to help determine the balance of the court in the coming years.