Senate Republicans Agree To Block Obama’s Supreme Court Nominee

“I don’t see the point of going through the motions”.

A debate over a successor erupted shortly after Scalia’s death on February 13. The court now contains four Republican nominees and four Democrats, meaning that allowing Obama to replace Scalia would tip the balance to Democratic appointees for the first time since 1969. Biden has said he was speaking hypothetically, because there was no Supreme Court vacancy at the time.

The Supreme Court will continue to function with just eight justices, but an even number of justices means ties will inevitably happen. And recently it is primarily regulations that impact the Koch brothers and their fossil fuel cohort; many cases are making their way to the Supreme Court even now.

“We will deal with it”, Alito said. We know what would happen if the shoe was on the other foot.

Kirk is considered one of the most endangered senators in the country as he not only faces a tough reelection bid, but holds one of five seats Democrats need to retake the Senate. He is still serving on the court.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said it was “absolutely” possible the Senate would end up holding hearings, pointing to statements by Collins, Kirk and others.

Last Wednesday, Murkowski told reporters in Alaska that Obama’s nominee should get a hearing.

Perdue was joined on the letter by Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa, President Pro Tempore Orrin Hatch of Utah, presidential candidate Ted Cruz of Texas and John Cornyn, another Texan who serves as the second-ranking Republican in the chamber.

McConnell of Kentucky said the “overwhelming view” of Republicans is that the vacancy should not be filled “by this lame-duck president”. Asked whether the right path was to not have Judiciary Committee hearings, Cornyn responded, “Correct”.

“I think we should not confirm someone this year, I think we should let the people weigh in”, said Sen.

But, the Republican-led Senate made it very clear not only will it not confirm a nomination from Obama, but the Republican senators will not even consider it.

“It would be our pragmatic conclusion that once the political season is underway – and it is – action on a Supreme Court nomination must be put off until after the election campaign is over”, Biden, then a DE senator and Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, said in June of 1992. And he already has split from Republicans and sided with Democrats by voting a year ago against a bill to repeal Obamacare because of a provision to defund Planned Parenthood.

“Nowhere in that document does it say the Senate has a duty to give the presidential nominees a vote. What else needs to be said?” “Senator McConnell, who has tried for a year to build this idea for a year to build this idea that the Senate is working and that Republicans are not obstructionist knows this is the wrong thing to do, but he can’t resist the clarion call of the hard right”, Schumer said.

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer, in line to succeed Reid as Democratic leader next year, predicted that Republicans would back down like they did in the 2013 government shutdown fight, and that it would hurt them politically.