Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, 81, said in a statement Wednesday that he is stepping down after more than 30 years on the court. A Republican appointee, he has held the key vote on such high-profile issues as abortion, affirmative action, gay rights, guns, campaign finance and voting rights.
President Donald Trump and Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy participate in a public swearing-in ceremony for Justice Neil Gorsuch in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on April 10, 2017.
President Donald Trump, followed by Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, center, and Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, arrives in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington on April 10, 2017, for Gorsuch's public swearing-in ceremony.
Members of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for a formal portrait in Washington on April 15, 1988. From left, front row are: Associate Justices Thurgood Marshall; William Brennan, Jr.; Chief Justice William Rehnquist; Byron White; and Harry Blackmun. Back row from left are: Antonin Scalia; John Paul Stevens; Sandra Day O'Connor and Anthony M. Kennedy.
Members of the U.S. Supreme Court pose for a formal group portrait on April 15, 1988, at the Supreme Court building in Washington. From left, front row are: Associate Justices Thurgood Marshall; William Brennan, Jr.; Chief Justice William Rehnquist; Byron White and Harry Blackmun. Back row from left are: Antonin Scalia; John Paul Stevens; Sandra Day O'Connor; and the court's newest member Anthony M. Kennedy.
The justices of the U.S. Supreme Court gather for an official group portrait to include new Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch, top row, far right, on June 1, 2017, at the Supreme Court Building in Washington.
Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy and Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, on April 15, 1988, in Washington, at the Supreme Court during a picture-taking session.
Anthony M. Kennedy, center, with his family outside the Supreme Court in Washington D.C., on Feb. 18, 1988, before being sworn in as associate justice of the Supreme Court. The family members are, from left: his wife, Mary; sons Justin and Gregory; daughter, Kristin.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony M. Kennedy after taking the constitutional oath during ceremonies at the White House on Feb. 18, 1988, as Ronald Reagan watches.
Anthony M. Kennedy, left, takes the constitutional oath as a Supreme Court Associate Justice from Chief Justice William Rehnquist at a White House ceremony in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 18, 1988. Holding the Bible is Kennedy's wife, Mary.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy presides over arguments at "The Trial of Hamlet," a Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles representation of Hamlet's trial with a jury of 12 community members, including actors, high school students, philanthropists and Los Angeles dignitaries at the University of Southern California Bovard Auditorium in Los Angeles on Jan. 31, 2011.
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy during his visit to the Robert T. Matsui Federal Courthouse in Sacramento, Calif., on March 6, 2013.
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