After the U.S. Supreme Court this week crippled labor unions, sided with anti-choice health clinics, upheld President Donald Trump's Muslim ban, and preserved GOP gerrymandering, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement, which will enable Trump to nominate a far-right replacement—and the billionaire Koch Brothers' political network plans to pour millions into promoting the president's choice.

Once Kennedy's departure was made public, a spokesperson for the Koch-backed group Americans for Prosperity (AFP) told NPR about plans to spend "seven figures" to support a forthcoming nominee.

While Field said, "faced with a vacancy on the highest court, we encourage President Trump to build on that success by nominating a Supreme Court Justice in the spirit of Justice Neil Gorsuch—a nominee who will respect the rule of law, interpret the Constitution as written, and not seek to advance a political agenda," adding to the court a justice who subscribes to that form of judicial interpretation would likely mean a series of victories for a far-right political agenda.

Although Kennedy has had a hand in forcing through 5-4 decisions that pleased Republicans, he also has been a key vote on cases involving reproductive and LGBTQ rights. The court cannot simply overturn past decisions without a case to weigh in on, but after Kennedy's annoucement Wednesday, critics expressed concerns about future rulings on cases pertaining to abortion, marriage equality, or affirmative action if the president can get a nominee through the Senate before the midterms.

Critics slammed the Koch network's plans to invest heavily in backing Trump's nominee as "one more example of big money attempt to establish a society governed by the rich," and declared, "This is not democracy."