In a White House meeting that lasted less than an hour, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, told President Barack Obama that any confirmation process during a presidential campaign would politicize the court. The allegations flew after an unrelated public meeting of the Senate Judiciary Committee – the committee that would typical host Supreme Court nomination hearings – scheduled for Thursday was abruptly canceled. Even those Republicans who supported her nomination to the federal bench have stated that she is not guaranteed their support for the Supreme Court vacancy.
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Let’s hop in the wayback machine for a quick trip to 2009, when President Obama was a newly minted leader and Republicans were just beginning their concerted efforts to delegitimize his presidency. The White House also reportedly began vetting Republican Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval before he withdrew his own name. This is unprecedented. The Supreme Court should have a full complement of justices in order to appropriately rule on issues that will affect all of us in some form. Nobody is saying he or his colleagues must accept the president’s nominee. Even larger majorities in each state (69/25 in Arizona, 66/24 in Missouri, 66/25 in North Carolina, and 66/26 in Iowa) said that they wanted the Senate to at least hear and consider potential nominees before rejecting them – something Senate Republicans have refused outright to do.
“They think they are going to wait and see what President Trump will do I guess as far as the nomination is concerned”, Reid added, referring to Donald Trump, the GOP presidential front-runner.
YURI GRIPAS/REUTERS President Obama said he intends to carry out his constitutional duty and make a selection.
The president then was a Republican, and the debate was hypothetical because there was no vacancy.
In addition, Grassley is taking a daily pounding from Democratic lawmakers, like Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, who has repeatedly slammed him for creating “obstruction and chaos” in Washington, according to The Times.
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“Not very long”, said Senator Reid, when asked how long the confab between the five men lasted in the Oval Office. Grassley and McConnell insisted that the president should not pick a nominee and leave the decision to his successor who shall take office next January after the United States presidential election on November 8. White House Spokesman Josh Earnest says the offer’s still open.
