US President Barack Obama has paid tribute to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia who died last week, throwing the court into uncertainty.
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Rarely does a Supreme Court vacancy occur in the final year of a presidential term, and the Senate has not confirmed a nominee to fill a vacancy arising in such circumstances for the better part of a century.
Granted, there is no science to predicting how a Supreme Court nominee will rule once on the bench, and Republicans will probably end up blocking Obama’s nominee no matter who that person is.
It’s hard to take such an argument seriously, and it certainly doesn’t help when an actual retired Supreme Court justice seems to have no use for the right’s talking points. “We need somebody in there to do the job and just get on with it”.
Yes, they should hold hearings – unless the president appears to be making a purely political statement with his appointment.
But the president did not appear to make much headway with the GOP leaders.
Press Secretary Josh Earnest said during his daily media briefing that Obama has telephoned Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Sen.
The justice’s former law clerks will take turns standing vigil by their former boss throughout the day and night in a tradition most recently observed after the 2005 death of former Chief Justice William Rehnquist.
The New York Times reported Grassely’s flip-flop as going from a position of firmly rejecting the idea of Obama nominating a replacement to giving Obama “some leeway”. His death left the court with four conservatives and four liberals, meaning the next justice’s vote will likely change the court’s balance of power.
Senators Dean Heller of Nevada and Thom Tillis of North Carolina this week also indicated support for allowing the Senate to consider Obama’s nominee.
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, said the Senate should hold hearings on an Obama nominee. Sen.
The White House said on Friday that Mr Obama has begun consulting with a “wide variety” of individuals regarding his search for a nominee.
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The Obamas arrived at the Great Hall in the Supreme Court Friday afternoon and stayed for several minutes.
