Grassley reverses ‘expectation’ of Supreme Court vacancy this year

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, is backing away from his prediction of an impending vacancy on the Supreme Court.

In an interview with Reuters Friday, Grassley said he no longer expects an opening on the court to emerge anytime soon.

“Evidently that’s not going to happen,” Grassley said. “I don’t have any expectation we will have a vacancy as I thought there would be.”
Speculation earlier this year centered on the possibility that 81-year-old Justice Anthony Kennedy, the court’s frequent swing vote, would retire.

Grassley had previously said predicted that a vacancy on the Supreme Court was all but imminent, though he declined to say who he thought would step down.