President Obama called on Senate Republicans Tuesday to give his eventual Supreme Court nominee a fair hearing in his bid to replace the late Justice Antonin Scalia.
“There’s no unwritten law that says it can only be done in off years,” Mr. Obama said at a press conference. “I expect them to hold hearings. I expect them to hold a vote.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and other GOP lawmakers have vowed to block any Obama nominee because it’s a presidential election year, saying the next president should select Justice Scalia’s replacement.
Mr. Obama blasted that rationale.
“This is the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land,” the president said. “It’s the one court where we would expect elected officials to rise above day-to-day politics. I understand the stakes. I understand the pressure that Republican senators are undoubtedly under. This would be a deciding vote [on the Court]. But that’s not how the system is supposed to work.”
• Dave Boyer can be reached at dboyer@washingtontimes.com.
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