McConnell shuts door on Senate action on Obama court pick

“During my time on the committee, we have never refused to send a Supreme Court nominee to the full Senate for a confirmation vote, even when the majority of the committee opposed the nomination”, Leahy said. This is what the junior senator from IL said at the time about the Senate’s role in confirming nominees.

Republican leader Mitch McConnell vowed Tuesday that the Senate would not confirm any Supreme Court nominee put forth by President Barack Obama, digging in his heels in the fight for control of the high court. “This is not an accurate description of my views on the subject”. He notes he also said in that speech that the Senate and White House should work together to overcome differences. Now, she’s making clear that Obama should pick a nominee and the Senate Judiciary Committee should hold hearings on the nomination.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, a Nevada Democrat, said Republicans are trying to “hold hostage an entire branch of government” and are engaged in a “full-blown effort to delegitimize” Obama’s presidency during his final year in office. They were strategizing over how to maximize pressure on Republican senators, including Ayotte, Kirk and three others seeking re-election in states Obama won in both 2008 and 2012: Ohio, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania.

Still, in February 1988, the a year ago of Republican Ronald Reagan’s presidency, the Democratic-controlled Senate overwhelmingly confirmed his nomination of Justice Anthony Kennedy, who was nominated the previous November. A committee review and a hearing is the first step in the process. Biden has since said he was speaking hypothetically because there was no Supreme Court vacancy at the time.

Supreme Court justices are appointed for life and the body’s rulings can powerfully influence the treatment of major social issues in America. “However, with the current opening and a Democratic president, a new appointee can provide the crucial swing vote that moves the court to the Left”.

“The Biden Rules recognize that under these circumstances, ‘the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling confirmation hearings on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over'”.

“Failing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senate’s most essential constitutional responsibilities”. Remember Trump said, ‘Delay, delay, delay, ‘ the supreme court nominee, so they’re doing that, and I’m sure Trump couldn’t imagine they’re taking that to a new height. “It’s not about the personality, it’s about the principle” that the people should decide in November’s election, he said. “I disagree with this view.” – then-Sen.

However, Earnest’s words are countered by the fact that Obama already rejected the idea that he would nominate a moderate justice.

In remarks Tuesday at Georgetown University law school, Justice Samuel Alito sounded unfazed about possibly spending the rest of this year in a court whose members are locked in a 4-4 tie.

Unanswered questions were making it tough for Republicans to fine-tune their approach just yet, including who Obama will name and who the GOP presidential nominee will be.