And Justice Kennedy’s retirement makes the issue of Senate control one of the vital issues of our time.” | Justin Sullivan/Getty Images Trump makes Justice Kennedy an issue in Senate race in North Dakota 
 
 President Donald Trump on Wednesday evening praised retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy — and sought to convince North Dakota voters that Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, the state’s incumbent Democrat, would not vote for a conservative replacement on the Supreme Court.  “Heidi will vote no to any pick we make for the Supreme Court,” President Donald Trump said in North Dakota. Heitkamp, however, was one of three Democrats to vote in favor of Trump's first Supreme Court nominee, now-Justice Neil Gorsuch.  President Donald Trump said that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy made the decision to retire because “he felt confident in me to make the right choice and carry on his great legacy.” 
 
 “I’m very honored he chose to do it during my term in office,” Trump told supporters at a campaign appearance in Fargo, North Dakota on Wednesday evening.
– President Trump praised Anthony Kennedy during a rally in North Dakota Wednesday evening and said he is "honored" the Supreme Court justice made his bombshell retirement decision when he did. "I'm very honored that he chose to do it during my term in office, because he felt confident in me to make the right choice and carry on his great legacy," Trump said in Fargo, reports Politico. Trump didn't go into detail on potential successors, except to say the person would need "intellect." And he emphasized the ramifications: "We have to pick a great one that is going to be there for 40 years or 45 years." (The pick is expected to come from this list, notes Time.) As NPR reports, Trump also has begun casting the issue as an crucial one in the 2018 midterms, arguing that it's more important than ever that the GOP retain its grip on the Senate. "Justice Kennedy's retirement makes the issue of Senate control one of the vital issues of our time—the most important thing we can do," Trump told the crowd. He was there stumping for Rep. Kevin Cramer, the GOP challenger to Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, who is seen as one of the most vulnerable incumbent Democrats given that she represents a red state. "Heidi will vote no to any pick we make for the Supreme Court," he said, though NPR notes she was one of three Democrats to vote in favor of Trump's first pick, Neil Gorsuch.