SC's senators get to approve Trump's new Supreme Court pick. Here's what they say

The retirement of Supreme Court Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy creates an opportunity for President Donald Trump to solidify conservative control of the nation's highest court for a generation.

Trump has not named his nominee to replace Kennedy, a moderate conservative who often was the swing vote on the nine-member court, which has four other conservative members and four liberal members. South Carolina's two U.S. senators — Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott, both Republicans — will vote to either confirm or reject Trump's choice when it gets to the Senate.

“The president now has the opportunity to nominate a justice that interprets the Constitution as our Founding Fathers intended, and is committed to being a fair defender of the rule of law," Scott, R-Charleston, said in a statement. "I look forward to the nomination process in the U.S. Senate, and, hopefully, voting in support of a justice that will strongly defend our cherished American principles."

Graham did not address the looming nomination in a statement Wednesday, instead focusing on Kennedy's legacy.

"I deeply appreciate Justice Kennedy’s long service to our nation as a member of the Supreme Court and the federal judiciary," Graham said of Kennedy. "He is one of the most impactful justices in modern Supreme Court history. As a Supreme Court justice, he called them as he saw them. He should be proud of the service he has rendered to the rule of law and our nation as a whole."

But Graham later told The Hill that the judiciary committee, of which Graham is a member, will "go to work" confirming Trump's nominee. South Carolina's senior senator said he's happy with the list of nominees under consideration by Trump. 

“The president has a lot of good names. The ones I’m familiar with I’m very pleased with,” Graham said to reporters on Capitol Hill. “We’ll see what the president does. But as soon as we get a name we’ll go to work to get the person confirmed.”

This story was originally published June 27, 2018 at 4:15 PM.