Bush: Senate court vote ‘not important’ to him

“With so many important issues pending before the Supreme Court, the Senate has a responsibility to fill vacancies as soon as possible. I can’t find a clause that says ‘…except when there’s a year left in the term of a Democratic president,”‘ Warren said.

After arriving at 3:30 a.m. on Sunday, the Sunset Funeral Home embalmed Scalia’s remains, according to Chris Lujuan, a funeral home manager. Tentative plans call for his body to be flown on Tuesday back home to his family in a northern Virginia suburb of Washington, D.C.

Senate Republicans took an oath just like Senate Democrats did. Until Saturday’s announcement of Scalia’s passing, the next president’s role in nominating justices was pretty much an academic exercise: He or she might get a chance to make a couple of nominations, but not necessarily the opportunity to shape the direction of the court.

GOP presidential hopefuls would rather the decision be left until after the election when there’s a possibility a Republican could pick Scalia’s replacement, and the Senate majority leader echoed that preference.

The entrance to Cibolo Creek Ranch in West Texas, where Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia was found dead on February 13, 2016.

The death of Antonin Scalia, one of the Supreme Court’s most conservative justices, leaves a bench evenly divided along ideological lines.

Presidio County Judge Cinderela Guevara told The Associated Press on Sunday she consulted with Scalia’s personal physician and sheriff’s investigators, who said there were no signs of foul play, before concluding the 79-year-old had died of natural causes.

If the court ultimately splits on a 4-to-4 vote, lower court rulings affecting only parts of the country would remain in place, without setting a nationwide precedent. “If you’re asking for an autopsy, that’s what we need to clarify”. It also keeps the president from slipping quickly into “lame duck” status during an election year. A confirmation process often takes more than two months, but could be drawn out longer by the Republican-led Senate. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president”, McConnell said.

A Senate looking at a limited legislative agenda in an election year now faces one of the most consequential decisions for the venerable body.

The Republican senator would be nominated only if Obama decided it would be better to pick a candidate Democrats didn’t love than risk a Republican successor making the choice for him. Sen.

Justice Scalia’s death near the West Texas town of Marfa shocked the political world.

But on Sunday, Jeb Bush was also asked to answer for his father’s and brother’s appointees to the Supreme Court – specifically David Souter, appointed by President George H.W. Bush, and Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., who was appointed by President George W. Bush and helped uphold President Obama’s health care law. It is easy to see a political environment where McConnell’s obstruction has backfired on Republicans, and the public outcry is so intense that the President has the political momentum to make a recess appointment. Furthermore, they can filibuster any nominee to prevent the Senate from even voting on the president’s nominee.

Obama said Saturday night he would submit a nominee to the Senate, whom Democrats said must be promptly considered.

“It’s up to Mitch McConnell and everyone else to stop it”, Donald Trump, the party’s frontrunner told a televised debate in SC, which holds the party’s next primary election on Saturday.

“The Obamacare decision, I was disappointed in, but he’s made some really good rulings beyond that”, Bush said.

Klobuchar, in her second Senate term, is a former prosecutor and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

“Well, the Souter choice was unfortunate”, Mr. Bush said, speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union“.