Politico got a hold of audio from Senator Heller telling a crowd that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy will be retiring in just a few months:
Dean Heller knows he’s the most vulnerable Republican senator in the country. But he thinks Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy might just help him hang on to his seat.
“Kennedy is going to retire around sometime early summer,” Heller predicted in Las Vegas last week, according to audio of an event he spoke at that was obtained by POLITICO. “Which I’m hoping will get our base a little motivated because right now they’re not very motivated. But I think a new Supreme Court justice will get them motivated.”
The 45-minute recording of the media-shy Heller shows a senator defending President Donald Trump repeatedly, breaking only delicately with the president on issues like trade and gun control. It’s in line with the tightrope Heller has to walk to have any hope of winning reelection against a Trump-inspired Republican primary opponent and a highly touted Democratic general election challenger — in a state that Hillary Clinton won in 2016.
Many Republicans credit the Supreme Court vacancy in 2016 with keeping the Senate in GOP control — and making Trump president. Heller went on to float Sen. Mike Lee for the job, calling the Utah Republican the type of conservative who could energize Nevada’s electorate in the June 12 primary. Lee’s office declined to comment.
“Mike Lee from Utah is probably on that short list of the next Supreme Court justice in our courts,” Heller said during the Q-and-A session with the J. Reuben Clark Law Society in Las Vegas Friday.
I think Heller is right on this because we reported last year that Kennedy told his law clerks that he was considering retirement in 2018:
While he long ago hired his law clerks for the coming term, he has not done so for the following term (beginning Oct. 2018), and has let applicants for those positions know he is considering retirement.
Heller speculates that another solid Supreme Court pick from Trump could help Republicans in November, which is probably true. Especially if that pick is along the lines of a Mike Lee type pick. I couldn’t think of a better mind to have on the Supreme Court.