Donnelly, Young React To Justice Anthony Kennedy's Retirement Announcement

Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement Wednesday. He made the announcement the same day the court handed down its last pending opinion for the 2017-18 term. He said he would continue to serve through July 31.

In Indiana, U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Ind.) and Todd Young (R-Ind.) reacted to the announcement.

Donnelly says he plans to use the same criteria to vote on a replacement for Kennedy that he did when he voted for conservative Justice Neil Gorsuch last year.

"Review their record, to look at previous decisions if they, if they happen to be a judge, to look at the writings they've had, looking for common sense that's reflective of who we are as a state," Donnelly says.

Donnelly was one of only three Democrats in the U.S. Senate to vote for Gorsuch.

Young released a statement reacting to the 81-year-old justice's retirement.

"We thank Justice Anthony Kennedy and his family for his countless years of distinguished service. I join my fellow Americans in wishing him all the best in the future. I look forward to voting to confirm a faithful constitutionalist onto the court," Young said.

Kennedy's retirement potentially gives President Donald Trump a second appointment to the nation's highest court.

A second Trump appointment would likely mean the court's conservatives would hold a firmer 5-4 majority in most rulings, whereas Kennedy sometimes voted with the panel's liberal justices, as in the 2015 case of Obergefell v. Hodges that legalized same-sex marriage.