Anthony Kennedy Says ‘Too Much Partisanship’ Harms Supreme Court

Former US Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy said the high court is harmed by “too much partisanship,” a problem he blames on presidents and a confirmation process that increasingly focuses on politics over temperament.

Kennedy, who retired in 2018, said Sunday on Bloomberg Television’s The David Rubenstein Show that the Senate “pays too much attention to the fact that you’re a Republican or a Democrat.” The former jurist, a Ronald Reagan appointee, acknowledged that presidents typically nominate from within their party, but said “partisanship should not be an overriding factor.”

“What you look at is temperament, learning, background, reputation, whether ...