Within hours of Scalia’s death Saturday, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would block consideration of any Obama high-court nominee, a position quickly backed by a number of Republican senators who say the president should wait and allow the next president to make the selection.
Advertisement
“The Constitution is pretty clear about what is supposed to happen now”, said Obama, who taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago Law School.
On Tuesday, President Obama challenged Senate Republicans to hold a confirmation hearing and a floor vote to consider the “indisputably qualified” nominee he plans to appoint.
“I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decisions”, Grassley told a group of Iowa reporters on a conference call, according to Radio Iowa.
Still, nominations during the presidency of John Tyler provide at least some precedent for Republicans.
“This is the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land”.
In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ryan said, “The Supreme Court is not an extension of the White House”.
But Schumer predicted, “Senator McConnell will have to back off. I believe we’ll get hearings and a vote”.
Obama has said he intends to name a nominee in coming weeks.
“The president and the first lady on Friday will travel to the Supreme Court to pay their respects to Justice Scalia as he lies in repose there at the Supreme Court”. “I’ve asked him to find me the lines that say the president shall not nominate in the fourth year”.
Vowing to exercise his responsibility to pick Scalia’s successor, Obama has sought to turn GOP resistance into a case study in Washington dysfunction.
Biden’s remarks came amid growing signs that some Republicans were softening their stance about considering Obama’s nominee.
“You can’t sue the Senate to make them hold a hearing or to make them confirm somebody”, he said. “Sanders or whoever’s nominated by the Republicans”.
Advertisement
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. The questioner noted Alito was nominated by President George W. Bush and during the Senate review process, Democrats, including then-Sen. Kelly Ayotte, have publicly opposed the nomination of Scalia’s successor until 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.
