In court fight, Democrats pressure Republicans at home

After the White House notified his hometown paper he was MIA, Senator Chuck Grassley has agreed to meet with the president next week about the Supreme Court vacancy.

Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, said: “After hearing the outrage that the mere suggestion of his name sparked, we are pleased that country club Republican governor Brian Sandoval has removed his name consideration for the supreme court”.

“I have also spoken to Senators Reid, Heller and McConnell and expressed the same desire to them”, Sandoval said.

In what many conservative strategists believed was a tactic to bait Republican senators, the White House floated a trial balloon by leaking the name of Brian Sandoval as a potential nominee.

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told the press corps that the meeting had finally been agreed upon “after a number of conversations, some more awkward than others”.

A recent letter castigates President Obama for not attending the funeral of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.

Thus, appointing Sandoval might have been a cynical maneuver aimed at clarifying just how extreme the Republican Party’s intransigence truly is. The results of interviews with 612 Ohioans showed that 58 percent said they think the vacant seat should be filled this year, compared with 35 percent who did not.

At the same time, several Democrats and party interest groups rose up in opposition after the Washington Post reported Wednesday that Sandoval was under consideration for the seat that opened when Scalia died February 13. Yet the Nevada governor is one of the GOP’s last remaining pro-choice politicians, which would presumably have made him an acceptable compromise for Democrats while offering a strategic advantage in their upcoming clash with the GOP.

The White House has also invited Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., and Judiciary Committee ranking member Patrick Leahy, D-Vt.

Re: “GOP shuts door on Senate action on Obama Supreme Court pick”, February 24 news story.

“It strikes me as very thankless place to be”, McAffee said.

Sandoval met on Monday at the U.S. Capitol with Sen. “But, again, if we look back at history, a few notable Democrats have stated in the past that we don’t have an obligation in the Senate through the Constitution to hold hearings, or give a vote, to a presidential nominee”.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who has despised President Barack Obama since his election in 2007, agrees.

Asked by interviewer Pete Williams if it is likely to be that way for a while, Breyer replied: “That’s your determination”.

The Republican leader in the Senate has vowed to block any nomination until after a new president takes office in January 2017.

“The notion that President Obama is a lame duck president is simply incorrect”.