“That if there are individual members of the Senate who after a good night’s sleep wake up tomorrow morning with a good suggestion and a desire to genuinely engage in the process, then certainly they know how to reach the White House, they know how to get the president on the phone”. “We will look forward to the American people deciding who they want to make this appointment through their own votes”.
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The first time President Obama sat down to pick a new Supreme Court justice, surprised aides discovered that he had gone beyond the briefing memos to read the leading candidate’s past judicial rulings.
The White House, adopting a practice from past trade and health-care battles, is specifically wooing regional reporters.
The choice of Deese as point man for the Supreme Court fight shows Obama characteristically turning at a critical moment to a long-time loyal lieutenant. As Senate Majority Leader, McConnell enjoys a number of privileges, including the ability to schedule the senate’s activity, Baker said.
The White House also put Brian Deese, a senior adviser to Obama, in charge of a White House team that will oversee the confirmation process.
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about a Supreme Court nominee from the Oval Office of the White House in Washington February 24, 2016.
Republicans, who fear that an Obama nominee would tilt the balance of the court to the left for decades, say that Obama is a lame duck and that the next president should decide on a nominee.
In 2008, McConnell himself challenged the rule’s legitimacy, and that “this seeming obsession with this rule that doesn’t exist is just an excuse for our (Democratic) colleagues to run out the clock on qualified nominees who are urgently needed to fill vacancies”.
“They’re going to wait and see what President Trump will do, I guess”, Reid told reporters in an attempt to needle the Republicans.
Democratic leaders also attended the meeting at the White House.
While the standoff continues, the president spent a significant part of the weekend reading through files on potential nominees and considering his options, Earnest said, adding that the president has not settled on a short list and could still add names to the mix.
Taylor Armerding bemoans partisan politics on the topic of the new Supreme Court vacancy from both Democrats and Republicans (“Supreme Court vacancy highlights partisanship on both sides”, February 25). Barely 40 minutes later, Reid stepped to the microphones in front of the White House to confirm that McConnell hadn’t budged.
The White House said Tuesday that Obama had no expectation before the session he could change Republicans’ minds.
Among the Republican senators taking that position is Sen. “It’s time for the people to voice their opinion about the role of the Supreme Court in our constitutional system of government”.
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“The president is serious about this consultation”, Mr. Earnest said.
