Senate Republican leaders said Tuesday that not only did they write off the idea of holding hearings for the Supreme Court nominee President Obama submits to succeed the late Justice Antonin Scalia, but they also refuse to meet with the nominee one-on-one, as is typical of the confirmation process.
When asked by reporters at press conference if he would refuse to meet with the nominee, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) referred to the unanimous recommendation by Republicans on the Judiciary Committee that there should be no hearings.
“I don’t know the purpose of such a visit,” McConnell said.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), the chamber’s No. 2 Republican who also serves on the Judiciary Committee, said he did not plan to meet with Obama’s nominee either.
“I don’t see the point of going through the motions, if you know what the outcome is going to be,” Cornyn said. He added that such a meeting would “give a misleading impression that something else is going on.”
