Source familiar tells NBC that Justice Kennedy had been in negotiations with the Trump team for months over Kennedy’s replacement. Once Kennedy received assurances that it would be Kavanaugh (his former law clerk) Kennedy felt comfortable retiring - @LACaldwellDC & @frankthorp

— Geoff Bennett (@GeoffRBennett) July 10, 2018

I didn’t always agree with him, but I respected Justice Kennedy for his principled stance on the #Guantanamo cases … seems that thinking good of him and what I thought were his principles might have been a mistake.@Morning_Joe https://t.co/9CTLLWyEzO

— Col. Morris Davis (@ColMorrisDavis) July 10, 2018