Leading Republicans – including all six conservative White House contenders – threatened to block any nomination Obama puts forth, arguing that it should be left to the next president to fill Scalia’s vacant seat.
Advertisement
The White House declined to give a more specific timeline for Obama to announce his nominee. “They are about our democracy”, Obama said.
“I strongly agree that the American people should decide the future direction of the Supreme Court by their votes for president and the majority party in the U.S. Senate”, Sen.
In remarks honouring Scalia on Saturday, Obama made clear he would not succumb to pressure from Republicans to leave the selection of a new justice to his successor.
“We’re in the midst of a consequential presidential election year, and Americans deserve an opportunity to weigh in given the significant implications this nomination could have for the Supreme Court and our country for decades to come”, Ayotte said.
On a national level, Scalia’s death could affect many high-stakes political issues, including health care, abortion and immigration.
However, it would appear as if McConnell has not always felt that a President should defer the privilege of nominating someone to serve in the judicial branch.
Months of White House hectoring about inaction over something as important as the Supreme Court could find favor with voters, many of whom already have a low opinion of lawmakers.
On Sunday, Schumer called McConnell’s actions “obstructionism”.
“Were not going to take it lying down and let the president have his way without one heck of a fight”, Paul said. I know that some of our colleagues wish that restoration of this principle were not required. They quickly offered counter-arguments to Republican statements that the decision should rest with the next president. Ted Cruz (R-TX) has already said he plans to filibuster any Obama-led Supreme Court nominee. So nothing Scalia did or said in pending cases matters to the outcome. Guevara said they saw no signs of foul play. Patrick Leahy, ranking Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union”.
Famously referred to as “a trailblazer who personifies the best of America” by Obama himself, if Srinivasan gets nominated, he will literally create history as the first Indian-origin national to serve as a Supreme Court Justice of the United States.
And then we will have a rare referendum on the high court snuggled into an election for president.
FILE – In this October 1, 2014, file photo, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia speaks to an audience gathered at the University of Colorado, in Boulder, Colo.
Even if he did it is still not certain the vote will go through.
Republican frontrunner Donald Trump said it was up to Senate Republicans to “delay, delay, delay” any nomination sought by Obama.
Calling Scalia’s death “the end of an era on the Supreme Court”, Oliver noted that “There is now a huge vacancy on the Supreme Court that needs to be filled, or if you listened to the Republicans in the last 24 hours – not”.
Scalia’s replacement would be Obama’s third Supreme Court appointment – joining Justice Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
Whether vulnerable Republicans will change that dynamic remains to be seen. Sen.
Advertisement
Another case in which there now seems little chance of finding a court majority to upset long-standing practice involves a conservative challenge to the way governments have drawn electoral districts for 50 years. His authority to nominate Supreme Court justices is no more diminished by his supposed lame-duck status than any of his other constitutional powers.
