“I’d say the president’s judicial nominees are all eminently qualified with a record of excellence and integrity”, Schultz said.
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If Senate Republicans hold fast to their vow not to confirm anyone Obama nominates, then the Supreme Court will operate with eight justices not just for the rest of this court term, but for most of the next one as well.
Republican Sens. Kelly Ayotte, N.H., Ron Johnson, Wis., and Rob Portman, Ohio, have called for the Senate to dismiss any potential nominee to the Supreme Court before President Barack Obama leaves office.
The late Justice Antonin Scalia will lie in repose at the Supreme Court on Friday.
Republicans outnumber Democrats 11-9 on the Judiciary Committee, which would hold confirmation hearings and vote on whether to send the nominee to the full Senate.
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 US senators to do the same.
While some may be pressured to join Democrats in calling for a confirmation vote depending on who Obama nominates, Bonjean also saw a potential upside for those Republicans.
One of the most vulnerable Senate Republicans is Durbin’s IL colleague, Sen. His body, which is now at a Fairfax funeral home, will be received by the remaining justices, who will line up on the Supreme Court’s steps.
The death of Justice Antonin Scalia has left a vacancy in the Supreme Court that could intensify the battle for control of the Senate, in which a number of battleground state seats are up for grabs.
Analysts suggested that president could decide to find the candidate he believes has the most stellar legal qualifications and thus increase political pressure on Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell for a vote.
Presidential candidate and Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) claimed he would filibuster any nominee Pres.Obama would put forward.
Democrats already enjoyed an advantage in the November Senate elections, having to defend only 10 seats while 24 Republican seats are up for grabs in the 100-member chamber. A lower court ruled that the districts were gerrymandered because black voters were packed into some districts in order to dilute their impact in others.
“(It) has become a political tool”, he said. “After all, Republicans supported two of the President’s previous nominees”.
“By ignoring its constitutional mandate, the Senate would sabotage the highest court in the United States and aim a procedural missile at the foundation of our system of checks and balances”, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said in a scathing op-ed in Tuesday’s Washington Post.
“For any case in which he would have been part of a 5-4 majority – virtually any contentious case in which the Court’s conservative wing had been set to prevail – that majority is gone”, he said.
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But they haven’t said exactly how they’ll treat an Obama nominee, and the president has made clear that he plans to tap someone for the high court.
