WASHINGTON โ President Obama declared Saturday night he would seek to fill the Supreme Court seat left vacant by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, charging into a heated and likely prolonged election-year fight with Republicans in Congress. Obama said a nomination was โbigger than any one party.โ
With a half-dozen or more major cases before the court, Obama said he pIanned โto fulfill my constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor in due time.โ
The Senate should have โplenty of time ... to give that person a fair hearing and timely vote,โ he said.
The court has already heard โ but not decided โ big cases involving immigration, abortion, affirmative action and public employee unions. With many cases recently decided by 5-4 margins, the vacancy could have major repercussions, both legally and in the presidential race.
Obamaโs remarks followed those of Republicans who wasted little time Saturday night, as news of Scaliaโs unexpected death spread, arguing that Obama should leave the choice to his successor.
โThe American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice,โ Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said. โTherefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.โ
His position was echoed by a pair of senators seeking the GOP presidential nomination: Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio.
Democrats pointed out that Justice Anthony Kennedy was confirmed in an election year โ 1988 โ the final year of Ronald Reaganโs presidency.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton said Republicans calling for the seat to remain vacant โdishonor our Constitution.โ
The nomination, Obamaโs third of this tenure, could determine the tenor of much of Obamaโs final year in office โ and ricochet through the campaign to replace him.
Obama, who already has little goodwill on the Hill, faces stiff opposition from Republicans hungry for the chance to further tip the court to the right. A confirmation process often takes more than two months, but could be drawn out longer by the Republican-led Senate.
Senate Democrats made clear that they would work vigorously to keep Republicans from trying to run out the clock. They quickly offered counterarguments to Republican statements that the decision should rest with the next president.
โIt would be unprecedented in recent history for the Supreme Court to go a year with a vacant seat,โ said Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. โFailing to fill this vacancy would be a shameful abdication of one of the Senateโs most essential constitutional responsibilities.โ
Democrats also argued that waiting for the next president in January 2017 would leave the court without a ninth justice for more than the remainder of Obamaโs term as Senate confirmation on average takes just over two months.
The impact on the campaign trail was immediate. Cruz issued a statement urging Obama to hold off nominating even as news of Scalia unexpected death spread.
The remaining justices are generally divided among four conservative votes and four liberal votes โ leaving the next nominee crucial to the courtโs direction.
