President Obama Says He Will Choose ‘Indisputably Qualified’ Nominee for Supreme Court

Now, with the Scalia’s death, the double standard is once again in effect.

Americans are due to vote on a new president in November later this year.

But it would have been extremely hard for a liberal politician from California to survive what is expected to be a bruising confirmation process in the Republican-led Senate.

Cruz and super PACs opposing Trump’s candidacy have blanketed the SC airwaves knocking the NY billionaire, using Trump’s past support for abortion, some gun control measures and his praise of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to question Trump’s conservative credo.

Even so, the hurdles for an Obama Supreme Court pick remain formidable.

Until now, the conservatives had been in the majority but a new judge could tip the balance, and Republicans running for president are strongly opposed to Mr Obama making his choice. This makes that fight exponentially more intense. Article 2 of the Constitution gives the president the power to make such appointments.

President Barack Obama declared Tuesday that Republicans have no constitutional grounds to refuse to vote on a Supreme Court nominee, and he challenged his political foes in the Senate to rise above the “venom and rancor” that has paralyzed judicial nominations. But the debate in the Democratic primary is all about pragmatism versus idealism. “There’s no unwritten law that says it can only be done on off years”.

The body of Justice Antonin Scalia will lie in repose in the Supreme Court’s Great Hall on Friday, as the public is invited to pay its respects to the jurist who died unexpectedly over the weekend.

In an interview with home state reporters, Iowa Republican Grassley said he “would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decision”. That will depend on how broadly acceptable the nominee is and whether general-election voters think that “delay, delay, delay” is a responsible strategy. The GOP holds the majority, 54-46, and Democrats face an nearly insurmountable task in trying to get 14 Republicans to join them in breaking a certain filibuster. “Sadly for them, even a quick perusal of the speech shows it provides no cover and that Leader McConnell is comparing apples to oranges”.

“The Supreme Court is not an extension of the White House”.

Higher turnout often helps Democratic presidential candidates, which in turn could help Democratic Senate candidates. In a statement to the Herald, she said the Supreme Court post should be filled “without delay”. So it tipped to one party for its first 17 days, thanks to Vice President’s Gore’s tie-breaking vote, and then back to Republicans once the new administration was sworn in.

As the daughter of immigrants from India and Jamaica, Harris is an appealing prospect for those pushing for more diversity on the Supreme Court.

The committee’s chairman, Senator Chuck Grassley, is backing the majority leader’s call to await a new president before considering Scalia’s successor. “There are very important issues before the Supreme Court right now”.

Carson has often been a critic of the Supreme Court, including in relation to gay marriage.