President Barack Obama will fire the next shots Tuesday in the escalating battle to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, which is already shaping up as one of the most intense political feuds in years.
Advertisement
“The Constitution is clear about what is supposed to happen now, said Mr Obama, during a news conference at an economic summit in California for South-East Asian countries”.
“When there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the president of the United States is to nominate someone”.
In this edition of River to River, host Emily Woodbury talks with Schmidt and Andersen about the nomination process and how it may impact the ongoing presidential nominating process. But if the Democrats won they might, which would prevent the next president from nominating Obama. Sens. Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz said the people should have a right to choose, thus any nomination should be reserved for the next president.
According to the Des Moines Register, the New York Times headline initially read, “Key Senator Says He Might Hold Hearings on Supreme Court Nominee”.
Iowa’s senior senator would play a key role in a confirmation process as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, which holds hearings on Supreme Court nominees and gives the full Senate an up or down recommendation, or passes forward the candidate with no recommendation.
“I think my Republican counterpart Mr. McConnell has made a bad mistake by saying that he is going to ignore the president”, Mr. Reid said. The president and first lady Michelle Obama planned to pay their respects Friday when Justice Scalia lies in repose at the Supreme Court, and Vice President Joe Biden was to attend Scalia’s funeral on Saturday. “I think this is a matter of policy – that during a lame-duck period, we should not be confirming a Supreme Court nomination”.
Obama has not specified when he will submit a nominee to fill Scalia’s seat.
Scalia’s sudden death on Saturday shook the political landscape, with Republicans in the Senate immediately calling for the decision over his replacement to fall to the next president. One fear, Toomey said, is that the court with a new Obama nominee might become less willing to block Obama from exceeding his legal or constitutional authority.
Advertisement
“I’m going to present somebody who indisputably is qualified for the seat and any fair-minded person, even somebody who disagrees with my politics, would say would serve with honor and integrity on the court”, he said.
