(CNN) — Don’t expect President Barack Obama to rush a Supreme Court nominee forward this week, the White House said on Sunday.
“As the President said last night, he takes his constitutional responsibility seriously and will approach this nomination with the time and rigor required. Given that the Senate is currently in recess, we don’t expect the President to rush this through this week, but instead will do so in due time once the Senate returns from their recess,” said Eric Schultz, a White House spokesman. “At that point, we expect the Senate to consider that nominee, consistent with their responsibilities laid out in the United States Constitution.”
Justice Antonin Scalia’s death was announced Saturday after he was found dead during a visit to Texas.The Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court was 79.
Several prominent Republicans, including Utah Senator Orrin Hatch, have said they believe the president should delay appointing a replacement and instead defer that decision to the winner of the upcoming presidential election.
“I think Majority Leader McConnell has said this should be delayed until the next presidency,” Hatch said Saturday while addressing the media in Salt Lake City. “I kind of agree with that, because it’s clearly part of the politics of the presidential race right now, and I don’t want to see it be a political hoopla, or a political mess, which it could become.”
Hatch, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said any “left-wing” nominees from the president would meet opposition during confirmation.
“This would be a real mess if the president decides to go ahead and appoint some very left-wing person to the court,” Hatch said. “I can tell you this, I don’t think that person is going to make it through.”
The-CNN-Wire
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