White House Strikes Back: Senate Has ‘Ironclad’ Responsibility To Consider Obama SCOTUS Nomination

Obama Administration Not Playing Games With GOP

The Senate has an “ironclad” responsibility to consider President Barack Obama‘s nominee to the Supreme Court, says the Principal Deputy White House Press Secretary. CBS News White House Correspondent Mark Knoller reported Eric Schultz’s strong comments, adding that Schultz called the current spate of GOP claims that the President cannot or should not nominate a successor to Justice Antonin Scalia “a lot of bluster.”

Schultz also said that the White House has already begun the process of choosing a replacement for the late Justice Scalia.

On Saturday President Obama promised to submit a nominee to the Senate “in due time,” and made clear he expects a nomination hearing. The administration today also said the President will not make a recess appointment to the Supreme Court while the Senate is still not in session.

Reuters is reporting that Schultz “said there was clear precedence for the U.S. Senate to confirm a Supreme Court justice during a presidential election year.” He also “told reporters that Obama would seek a nominee who understands that justice is not an abstract theory but something that affects Americans’ daily lives.”

Meanwhile, Schultz has been busy on Twitter, retweeting these related tweets:

  

Image by The White House via Flickr