It came as no real surprise when Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy announced he will step down July 31, after 30 years on the high court.

Barely had the announcement been made when the Democrats and the Republicans were at each other’s throat.

Liberals had hoped that Kennedy, 81, would hold on a bit longer, at least until after the November elections, in which they hope to recapture control of the Senate — which has to approve any Supreme Court nomination — and, possibly, the House. Kennedy often has been the swing vote on the divided court, particularly after the retirement of Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. It was Kennedy who cast the tie-breaking vote allowing same-sex marriage. His final vote, however, was to uphold President Donald Trump’s travel ban on people from several mostly-Muslim countries in the Middle East, as well as North Korea and Venezuela.

Republicans want to be sure they have a new Supreme Court justice in place before the Nov. 6 elections, although they say they are confident they will prevail at the polls.

For their part, Democrats are determined to stall the nomination.

Why? Whenever the vote is taken, it is President Donald Trump’s appointment to make. And if his first nomination fails, he will name someone similar to the post. And if that fails … .

That’s the way it works.

When Barack Obama was president, he made three appointments to the court, two of whom now sit on the august body: Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.

The third appointment, Merrick Garland, will be the big bone of contention in the upcoming debate on President Trump’s nominee, whomever that is.

When Justice Antonin Scalia died on Feb. 13, 2016, Obama nominated Garland, who was the respected chief judge of the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Even though some of them actually approved of Garland personally, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell refused to schedule any hearings on Garland’s nomination, saying tradition said presidents in the final year of their term don’t get to replace Supreme Court justices when they die or resign.

Of course, that isn’t true. Justice Kennedy was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in the final years of that president’s eight-year term.

So Republicans should have at least considered Garland’s nomination, but they didn’t. That, as they say, is water under the bridge. Democrats, however, will use the argument that, since this is an election year, Trump shouldn’t be allowed to make an appointment until after the voting.

But there is a big difference. Donald Trump still will be president for the next two and one-half years. Whether he makes the appointment now or early next year, he still is president. He still gets to name people to the high court, subject to Senate approval.

And be assured, President Trump will appoint a strong conservative to the court. Though we doubt most voters choose a candidate simply because of who he or she might appoint to the Supreme Court, that is always in the back of their mind. We understand that when we elect a Democrat, nominees are more likely to be to the left politically, and when we elect a Republican, nominees will be more conservative.

While Donald Trump isn’t a traditional Republican, we all understand his nominees will lean to the right.

In an effort to get his nomination approved before November, President Trump says he will name Kennedy’s replacement on July 9. He already has several candidates under consideration. We hope whomever he picks is well-qualified and doesn’t come to the court with a political agenda. We would wish the same for all future candidates, no matter who is making the nomination.

The Supreme Court is not the place to play politics.

We await the president’s nomination with eagerness and interest.

Once he or she is named, we urge Democrats to give the nominee a fair and speedy hearing. Don’t say no because of what has happened in the past or because the nomination was made by a president they don’t like.

At some point, we have got to stop the gotcha politics that have gridlocked our Congress.

Let that time be now.