Dignitaries including Vice President Joe Biden, former Vice President Dick Cheney, members of Congress and all eight sitting justices of the Supreme Court were among those attending.
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Among those passing through the Great Hall were members of the federal appeals court on which Scalia served before joining the Supreme Court, including two judges mentioned as possible replacements. They have no idea whom he will choose and they scream out that they will not approve it.
Obama is pushing ahead anyway. “If he doesn’t get it, then he will around the country trying to turn out votes, trying to turn out the Obama coalition in November to help the Democrats win the White House to make sure at least a Democrat gets that pick next”. When there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the President of the USA is to nominate someone. “So the president certainly wants to move promptly so that the United States Senate can do the same in giving his nominee a fair hearing and a timely yes or no vote”. “And I think the American people, including those who are going to cast a vote in 2016, will be watching”, he said.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are hitting back at Democrats in the battle over the Supreme Court, saying voters should have a say in selecting the next justice.
Efforts to replace Scalia have devolved into a massive political dogfight, involving a wide array of interest groups on all sides of the US political spectrum.
Scalia’s son Paul – a Catholic priest – led the service and mixed humor and reverence for the conservative icon and father of nine who died unexpectedly last weekend. 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.
Following a tradition last observed for Chief Justice William Rehnquist in 2005, Scalia’s casket will be carried into the Supreme Court’s Great Hall on Friday, where there will be a public farewell 10:30 a.m.to 8 p.m. The public viewing will follow a private ceremony at the court Saturday morning.
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The key takeaway here – aside from the obvious one about how every issue is immediately viewed by the public through their particular partisan lens – is that people are divided right down the middle on what the right next step is when it comes to filling Scalia’s vacancy.
