“There will be plenty of time for me to do so and the Senate the fulfill its responsibility”, Obama said.
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Texas governor Greg Abbott called Scalia “an unwavering defender of our written Constitution”.
President Barack Obama says he plans to fulfill his constitutional responsibility and nominate a successor to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.
“He influenced a generation of lawyers, judges and students”, Obama said. “The president and the Senate should get to work without delay”.
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton urged Obama to nominate Scalia’s replacement despite McConnell’s threat. “That is a fact my friends, whether the Republicans like it or not”.
Harry Reid of Nevada, the chamber’s top Democrat said Obama should send the Senate a nominee “right away”.
The court has an unusually large number of cases before it this term on controversial issues: abortion, affirmative action, the contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act, the First Amendment rights of non-union members, immigration and voting districting. He will no doubt be remembered as one of the most consequential judges and thinkers to be on the Supreme Court.
But the Judiciary Committee and the Senate as a whole have Republican majorities that can block the nomination.
The Supreme Court had been closely divided between four appointees of Democratic presidents, all fairly liberal, and five Republican appointees, all relatively conservative. Eleven were voted down outright, and the remainder were either withdrawn or tabled or otherwise never received Senate votes. “They are about democracy”.
“The Senate has a constitutional responsibility here that it can not abdicate for partisan political reasons”, she said.
There are almost 11 months until a new president takes office, and in the interim, the high court will operate with only eight justices.
On a major issue, the high court would be likely to rehear the case once it had its full membership. Decisions were expected in late spring and early summer on whether the president could shield up to 5 million immigrants living in the United States illegally from deportation. When that happens, the lower court decision stands.
The majority leader sets the agenda in the Senate.
“I was told it was this morning”, Biery said of Scalia’s death.
Srinivasan was confirmed by the Senate 97-0 in 2013.
Debating the court allows both Democrats and Republicans to argue policy planks that are central to their message.
“The American people deserve to have a fully functioning Supreme Court…”
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According to a report, Scalia, an associate justice, arrived at the ranch on Friday and attended a private party with about 40 people.
