Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said shortly after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death that his replacement should not be submitted until after a new president occupies the White House.
Advertisement
He added, “It’s entirely up to the Senate whether to confirm that nomination, and I think we should not, and we should defer that to the next president”.
Republicans have said the seat should remain vacant for 11 months; O’Connor wants the confirmation process to begin and for a new justice to take the seat “now”.
In McConnell’s home state of Kentucky, activists went to his Louisville office to deliver five boxes containing petition signatures gathered nationally by groups wanting the Senate to vote on Obama’s eventual Supreme Court nominee. It “creates too much talk around the thing that isn’t necessary”, she said.
Earnest did not say why Obama opted not to attend the funeral, and when asked whether Obama would be golfing Saturday, he said the president was focused on honoring Scalia’s life and service.
The next justice could tip the balance of the bench for the first time in decades after Justice Scalia’s death left the nine-justice court evenly split with four conservatives and four liberals. With the Supreme Court down to eight Justices, many rulings may now come down split 4-4, in which case the lower court’s ruling would stand.
Obama has phoned Senate leaders in the past day, including Republicans who have threatened to block any nominee made by the Democratic president to replace long-serving conservative Justice Antonin Scalia, who died on February 13.
“We just have to pick the person you can under the circumstances as the appointing the authority must do”, she said.
In a radio interview on Wednesday, Texas Sen.
Instead, he will pay his respects beforehand, at the Supreme Court, where Scalia’s body will lie in repose. “This is going to be an issue in the campaign”.
Advertisement
The White House spokesman urged Republican senators to avoid turning a constitutional matter into a partisan fight and asked them to evaluate future nominees on their individual merits.
