Article from Fox News by Fox News Staff.

With Justice Anthony Kennedy retiring, the man President Trump once called an “absolute disaster” potentially is poised to inherit the mantle of “swing” justice – and solidify his power on the Supreme Court.

Whether Chief Justice John Roberts can, or wants to, fill that vacuum is the big question in judicial circles right now.

“If the president, as everyone expects, nominates a conservative to fill Justice Kennedy’s seat, the spotlight will shift to the chief justice, who will be viewed, rightly or wrongly, as the swing justice,” said Thomas Dupree, a former top Bush Justice Department official. “In many ways, I think this would be a role the chief justice would welcome. He’s played this role before.”

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But the President George W. Bush-appointed Roberts has flashed his own independent streak over the years, including on ObamaCare, and could be the closest to a wild card of those left on the bench. Kennedy hated the title of “swing” justice, and Roberts too may come to rue the perception that his future votes on the court are up for grabs. Both men are conservatives, nominated by Republican presidents. Both see themselves as institutional stewards of the court, particularly as an insular body free of partisan politics.

Read the entire article at Fox News.

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