One oft-repeated reason for waiting on the nomination, according to some Republicans, is to allow the American people to have some say in the matter after they choose their next president.
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“I intend to do my job between now and January 20 of 2017”, Obama told reporters at a news conference.
Scalia died on Saturday of natural causes at age 79 at a residence in West Texas. He has said he will put forward a replacement in due time and that he believes the Senate will have “plenty of time” to give the nominee a fair hearing and a vote.
“The Framers were perfectly clear on two points: the president’s term is four years, not three years and one month, and the president ‘shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint …”
Come November, at least five Republican senators will have to defend their seats from Democratic challengers in states that President Obama won – twice.
“I don’t agree (with Republicans)”, O’Connor said in an interview with Phoenix-based Fox affiliate KSAZ.
Why should Obama try to fight it out with the Republicans to get a nominee with the clock ticking toward the end of his presidency, when an alternative strategy increases his chances that he will be appointed to be the next Supreme Court justice? In the past, lawmakers have sometimes informally agreed to halt hearings on lower court nominations during campaign season.
Republican Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, whose panel weighs Supreme Court nominations, said on Tuesday he will wait until Obama names his pick to fill the vacancy before deciding whether to hold confirmation hearings.
While conversations among Hawaii progressives and some liberal Democrats in the Islands right after the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia favored a quick presidential recess appointment to replace him, this is very unlikely to happen.
“They have to be anxious, because this is a big complication with potential risks and potential rewards for re-election, not to mention the presidential [campaign]”, he says. “My wife, Nancy, and I will attend his services at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception”.
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A delay means the court likely will hand down 4-4 deadlocked rulings on many important cases, such as Friedrichs vs. California Teachers Association, involving Orange County teacher Rebecca Friedrichs. A court spokeswoman said Scalia’s body will lie in repose at the Supreme Court building on Friday.
