Biden: Obama seeking court nominee who enjoys GOP support

Reflecting on the broader political circumstances surrounding judicial nominees, the president added, “The fact that it’s that hard, that we’re even discussing this, is I think a measure of how, unfortunately, the venom and rancor in Washington has prevented us from getting basic work done”.

Scalia’s death immediately sparked a fierce political debate on whether Republican senators should wait until after the November presidential election to consider confirming a presidential nomination to the nation’s highest court.

Top Republicans believe that the findings confirm that the Supreme Court vacancy will be a base motivator, but it won’t change the complexion of key Senate races, which they argue will be more influenced by the economy, the war with ISIS and the presidential campaign. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell says a replacement should not be named until the next president takes office. “It says appointments shall be made with the advice and consent of the Senate”.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Thursday it makes sense to send Vice President Biden to the funeral instead because his “security footprint is a little bit lighter” and he has a longtime relationship with Scalia’s family.

It also came at a time when the Supreme Court is set to decide its first major abortion case in almost 10 years, as well as legal challenges on voting rights, affirmative action, immigration and unions. Ted Cruz, who are running for the Republican nomination for president, said Wednesday night during a CNN town hall in SC that they would not nominate replacements to the Supreme Court if they were in Obama’s position.

Obama will not attend Scalia’s funeral on Saturday, a decision that provoked criticism from some conservatives.

“I expect them to hold hearings, I expect there to be a vote”.

The polling doesn’t indicate which side has the upper hand if the decision does go into next year, but it does suggest that the public is open to Republicans’ argument that Mr. Obama isn’t the right person to fill the seat of the conservative Justice Scalia.

The vice president said Saturday that Scalia would be remembered as “one of our most influential justices”.

A spokesman for Reid said his remarks were directed at other federal judgeships, not Supreme Court justices.

Johnson, the vulnerable Wisconsin Republican, said that he’d be fine with either having a hearing and casting an up-or-down vote – or letting the nomination languish. Brennan then was formally nominated in January 1957 and confirmed that March. The Senate, likewise, has its own constitutional duty to consider Obama’s nominee and either accept or reject the president’s choice.

As others have pointed out, this vacancy favors liberals, but the next likeliest departures-Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer and swing-vote Anthony Kennedy-could put the court in a very scary place if the next president is a Republican.

Although the White House hasn’t publicly disclosed any candidates Obama is considering, he’s expected to look closely at a number of circuit court judges – including some that meet the benchmark that Biden laid out.