President Barack Obama vowed on Tuesday to name an “indisputably” qualified Supreme Court nominee and lashed out at Republicans who he said demand a strict interpretation of the Constitution – except regarding his right to propose a new Justice.
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Since Saturday, many high-profile Republicans have publicly stated that Obama should let the next president nominate a replacement for Antonin Scalia, who died over the weekend at the age of 79.
Replacing Scalia with a Democrat-appointed justice could change the balance of the court under Chief Justice John Roberts, and would mean the election of the president could immediately determine the direction of the Supreme Court.
On Tuesday from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations convention in Rancho Mirage, Calif., Obama said he intends to continue working through the expiration of his term, and he expects USA senators to do the same. “Historically, this has not be viewed as a question”. And I wish the president well as he makes choices and goes down that line. Charles Grassley (R-IA), the chairman of the Judiciary Committee, to block the nomination in committee.
According to the constitution, the president nominates justices to the court and the Senate – now controlled by the Republicans – uses its “advice and consent” powers to confirm or reject that person.
Republican legislators, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, has said the Senate will not even hold a hearing on a nominee after the election.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is hoping to be sitting in the Oval Office himself on January 20, but has said he will filibuster any Obama nominee while he still has his current job.
“If Obama makes another nomination, this would be his third appointment to the Supreme Court, and it would be the first Democratic appointed majority on the court in over 40 years”. He advised the president to nominate someone who has “an nearly identical resume and capabilities of Justice Scalia”. There is “more than enough time” for the Senate to consider and vote on a nominee before his presidency ends, he said.
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Leahy said, “The only time we’ve gone a year with an absent member of the Supreme Court was during the Civil War”.
