All Eyes Are On Collins And Murkowski As Fate Of Roe V. Wade Hinges On Who Fills Kennedy’s Seat

The New York Times: With Roe In The Balance, Two Republicans Hold High Court In Their Hands
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s retirement announcement was less than a day old when liberal activists rallied on the steps of the Supreme Court on Thursday, invoking the names of two Republican senators who, they believe, hold the future of Roe v. Wade in their hands. “Remember Susan Collins! Remember Lisa Murkowski!” Neera Tanden, president of the liberal Center for American Progress, exhorted the crowd. “If they claim to be pro-choice, choice is on the line with this decision.” (Stolberg, 6/28)

The Washington Post: ‘Everyone Is Focused On Lisa And Susan’: The Two Most Powerful Senators In The Fight To Replace Kennedy
“It’s been kind of interesting in this firestorm. Afterward, everyone is focused on Lisa and Susan,” Murkowski said in an interview Thursday. “If I were John or Jerry or Bill, I’d say, ‘Wait a minute. How come I’m not being viewed as an important voice in this process?’ ” But Murkowski and Collins are the rare elected Republicans in Washington who support abortion rights and voted against repealing the Obama-era Affordable Care Act — issues Democrats are using to frame the battle over the Supreme Court nominee. (Kim, 6/28)

The Hill: Collins, Murkowski To Play Pivotal Role In Supreme Court Abortion Battle
Collins told reporters immediate following Kennedy’s announcement that she would prefer a moderate nominee. “I view Roe v. Wade as being settled law,” she said. “It’s clearly precedent, and I always look for judges who respect precedent.” When asked if she had any concerns about the likelihood of the nominee being a swing vote in any abortion-related cases, Collins said it was impossible for her to have concerns now because she doesn't know who the nominee is. (Carney, 6/28)

The Washington Post: ‘Which Side Are You On?’: Liberals Pressure Centrist Democrats On Trump’s Court Pick
Three centrist Democrats fighting for their political lives faced growing pressure from liberal activists and some of their own Senate colleagues Thursday to oppose President Trump’s choice for the Supreme Court. Sens. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, Joe Manchin III of West Virginia and Joe Donnelly of Indiana already were navigating tough politics five months before the midterms, seeking reelection in states Trump won by hefty double digits in 2016. Each is critical to Democratic chances of wresting control of the Senate in November. (Sullivan, 6/28)

The New York Times: Denied A Filibuster, Democrats Eye Other Tactics In Supreme Court Fight
This truly will be a Supreme Court confirmation like none before. It will be the first for a court vacancy that opened during the Trump administration. It will be the first in an election year since President Barack Obama’s nominee was blocked by Republicans in 2016. Most importantly, it will be the first time the process has begun with the threat of a filibuster off the table. (Hulse, 6/28)

The New York Times: Political War Over Replacing Kennedy On Supreme Court Is Underway
A political war over replacing Justice Anthony M. Kennedy roared to life on Thursday in Washington, the start of an election-season clash over a Supreme Court retirement that will reshape the country’s judicial future. Hours after Justice Kennedy’s announcement on Wednesday that he will step down July 31, conservative organizations were mobilizing to support the Republican-controlled Senate in a quick confirmation of a justice who would be expected to vote against the court’s liberal precedents. One group, the Judicial Crisis Network, has already started a $1 million ad campaign urging people to support the president’s choice. (Shear and Kaplan, 6/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Both Parties Mobilize For Supreme Court Battle Over Kennedy’s Successor
The White House again has enlisted Leonard Leo, executive vice president of the Federalist Society, a conservative lawyers network, to assist in a selection process that already is focusing on fewer than a half-dozen candidates. Within hours of Justice Kennedy’s retirement announcement Wednesday, Mr. Leo took a leave of absence from the Federalist Society to serve as Mr. Trump’s outside adviser on the nomination. (Radnofsky and Jamerson, 6/28)

The Washington Post: Abortion Foes Play Down Possibility Of Immediately Overturning Roe V. Wade
Leaders of the antiabortion movement said Thursday that they are in no hurry to overturn the landmark Roe v. Wade abortion rights decision, saying they plan to stick with their long-standing strategy of pushing for incremental restrictions despite the tantalizing prospect of a more conservative Supreme Court. Even with Justice Anthony M. Kennedy’s announced retirement, these activists said they are not sure the time is ripe for a wholesale reconsideration of the 1973 ruling. (Gardner, 6/28)

The Wall Street Journal: Abortion Foes To Take New Aim At Roe V. Wade
With Justice Kennedy’s retirement, President Donald Trump could replace him with a justice who is more likely to side with the court’s four conservative members on abortion issues. As a candidate, Mr. Trump promised to appoint “pro-life” justices with a “conservative bent” to the Supreme Court. His first appointee to the court, Justice Neil Gorsuch, has yet to review an abortion case. Justice Kennedy didn’t always side with the liberal bloc of the court on abortion cases, but he did in the 1992 ruling Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which reaffirmed the central holding of Roe—that women have a constitutional right to first-trimester abortions. He voted with the four left-leaning justices again in 2016 to strike down Texas restrictions on abortion providers, in a case that made it easier for women to argue that regulations placed an undue burden on their rights. (Palazzolo and Hong, 6/28)

NPR: What Justice Kennedy's Retirement Means For Abortion Rights
Almost as soon as Kennedy's retirement was announced, several anti-abortion rights groups seized on the moment."We're the closest we've ever been to overturning Roe v. Wade," a woman says in a video released online by the group Students for Life of America shortly after the news broke. In an interview with NPR, Students for Life President Kristan Hawkins called the retirement of the court's swing vote "a day that we've been waiting for." (McCammon, 6/28)

Los Angeles Times: If A Reshaped Supreme Court Tosses Abortion Decisions Back To States, Several Would Move Fast To Outlaw The Procedures
President Trump’s ability to reshape the Supreme Court with a conservative nominee could quickly send the nation back to a reality that had seemed far in the past: Abortion would be illegal in a large swath of America, subjecting doctors and perhaps pregnant women to criminal prosecution and potentially upending the political landscape in many states. As many as 17 states are poised to effectively ban abortion should the Supreme Court overturn Roe vs. Wade, the 1973 decision that guaranteed abortion rights nationwide. If the decision were overturned, each state could set its own rules on abortion. (Halper, 6/28)

The New York Times: Inside The White House’s Quiet Campaign To Create A Supreme Court Opening
President Trump singled him out for praise even while attacking other members of the Supreme Court. The White House nominated people close to him to important judicial posts. And members of the Trump family forged personal connections. Their goal was to assure Justice Anthony M. Kennedy that his judicial legacy would be in good hands should he step down at the end of the court’s term that ended this week, as he was rumored to be considering. (Liptak and Haberman, 6/28)

The Washington Post: ‘If It Wasn’t The Roberts Court Already, It Is The Roberts Court Now’
With the retirement of Justice Anthony M. Kennedy and the likelihood that President Trump will choose a more conservative replacement, Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. is poised to play a pivotal role on the court he has headed for 13 years. Roberts has been content to play the long game, moving the court to the right with incremental steps. But now, with more conservative colleagues on one side and liberals on the other, Roberts will have the ability to supply the deciding fifth vote and dictate the terms of the deal. (Barnes, 6/28)

Kaiser Health News: As Trump Eyes Next Supreme Court Pick, Poll Finds Most Americans Oppose Overturning Roe V. Wade
Trump will now get another opportunity to reshape the bench with this week’s retirement announcement by Justice Anthony Kennedy. But a Kaiser Family Foundation poll out early Friday suggests that’s not what most of the public wants. The foundation’s June tracking poll found that Americans oppose overturning Roe V. Wade by 38 percentage points — 67 vs. 29 percent. Among Democrats and independents, support for keeping the ruling intact is even stronger, 81 percent and 73 percent respectively, according to the poll. (Rovner, 6/29)

Kaiser Health News: KHN’s ‘What The Health?’ Podcast Turns 1. Justice Kennedy Retires. Now What?
The retirement of Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy has triggered a political earthquake in Washington, as Republicans see a chance to cement a conservative majority and Democrats fear a potential overturn of abortion rights and anti-discrimination laws, and even — possibly — challenges to the Affordable Care Act. Kennedy has been the deciding vote in dozens of cases over his long career on the high court, mostly siding with conservatives but crossing ideological lines often enough that liberals see him as the last bulwark against challenges from the right to many policies. (6/28)