Rumors are swirling that U.S. Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, the Republican-appointed judge whose swing vote has preserved détente between the court’s left and right for nearly a generation, may announce his retirement in the next year.

The mere idea that Kennedy’s seat could get filled by President Trump and the conservative Republican Senate has sent many on the left into a tailspin of anxiety and despair. In the 28 years Kennedy has served on the court, he has authored opinions or cast tie-breaking votes in major, divisive cases, including decisions that preserved a constitutional right to abortion, recognized social and sexual liberties for gays and lesbians, granted habeas corpus protections to Guantanamo Bay prisoners, confirmed a 2nd Amendment right to own a handgun in the home and applied the 1st Amendment to corporations engaged in political speech.