Picking Antonin Scalia's replacement on the U.S. Supreme court is becoming a predictable dragged out fight over a high court nominee, with President Barack Obama saying he plans to nominate a successor and many Senate Republicans demanding that Obama's successor be allowed to select a new justice.
At this early stage, it's all talk and political posturing, but Scalia's untimely death Saturday at a West Texas resort in Big Bend country, reported on by the
San Antonio Express-News, sent shock waves through the nation's political and legal communities and set up a battle that could continue through November's presidential election.
Eric Schultz, the White House's deputy press secretary, told the
Washington Post on Monday that Obama plans to ignore the Republican demands and that he believes the Senate will eventually hold a confirmation hearing on his nominee.
"This is not the first time the Republicans have come out with a lot of bluster only to have reality sink in," said Schultz. "We need a fully staffed Supreme Court."
On the other side, Republican Sen. Rob Portman, who is in a battle for his seat in November against former Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, said a new president should be allowed to make the selection.
"With the election less than nine months away, I believe the best thing for the country is to trust the American people to weigh in on who should make a lifetime appointment that could reshape the Supreme Court for generations," said Portman.
Some of the presidential candidates have started to weighed in on Scalia's seat.
Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton went to Twitter, posting 11 messages supporting Obama's effort to name a successor and demanding that Republicans take action on it.
GOP frontrunner Donald Trump said on Saturday that Scalia's death was a "tremendous blow to conservatism" and the Senate should stop any nomination by Obama, according to The New York Times.
"It's up to Mitch McConnell and everyone else to stop it," Mr. Trump said. "It's called delay, delay, delay."
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