Stevens To Retire From SCOTUS While Obama Is President
Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens has declared that he will retire during President Obama’s time in office. “I will surely do it while he’s still president,” said Stevens. He also said: “I can tell you that I love the job, and deciding whether to leave it is a very difficult decision. But I want to make it in a way that’s best for the court.”
Specter: Stevens Should Wait Until Next Year To Retire
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Sen. Arlen Specter (D-PA) hoped that Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens would wait until next year to retire, when Specter thinks there could be a less toxic political environment. “I think the gridlock in the Senate might well produce a filibuster, which would tie up the Senate on a Supreme Court nominee,” Specter said. “I think if a year passes there’s a much better chance we can come to a consensus.”
Kyl Doesn’t Rule Out Filibuster On SCOTUS Nominee To Replace Stevens
Appearing on Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) did not rule out the idea of Republicans filibustering President Obama’s eventual nominee to succeed Justice John Paul Stevens. “I think the president will nominate a qualified person. I hope, however, he does not nominate an overly ideological person. That will be the test,” Kyl said. “And if he doesn’t nominate someone who is overly ideological, I don’t think — you may see Republicans voting against the nominee, but I don’t think you’ll see them engage in a filibuster.”
Lieberman: New Iran Sanctions Are ‘Last Chance’
Appearing on Meet The Press, Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) said that new sanctions on Iran would be a “last chance” for avoiding military action. “We’ve got to impose tough sanctions quickly,” said Lieberman, who also added: “Frankly, it’s the last chance we are giving Iran and ourselves, not to be faced with the choice of either accepting them having nuclear weapons or taking military action.”
Summers: Unemployment ‘Running Somewhat Ahead’ Of Forecasts
Appearing on This Week, White House National Economic Council Director Larry Summers said that unemployment has done better recently than the administration expected. “You know, the — the good news is that, if you look at what’s happened in the first quarter of this year, it’s hardly satisfactory, but it is running somewhat ahead of what the administration was forecasting, because our forecasts were conservative. And I’d expect continued progress in job creation,” said Summers. “As you see progress in job creation, you tend to see unemployment go down. It’s not quite as simple as some people think, Jake, because as conditions get better, more people decide to look for work and are counted as in the labor force. So sometimes it’s frustrating and the progress doesn’t show up immediately in the unemployment rate, but it’s progress nonetheless in giving jobs to people who need them.”
Summers: ‘We’ve Got A Long Way To Go’ On Economy
Appearing on State of the Union, White House National Economic Council Director Larry Summers touted progress on the economy, while also acknowledging continued problems. “The trend has turned,” said Summers, “but to get back to the surface, we’ve got a long way to go and that’s what we’re fighting to do every day.”
Kyl On RNC Sex-Club Spending ‘This Kind Of Thing Has Got To Stop Or They Won’t Get Any Contributions’
Also during his appearance on Fox News Sunday, Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl (R-AZ) distanced himself from Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele over the RNC’s recently-revealed spending of nearly $2,000 at a sex-themed nightclub in West Hollywood. Kyl said he could not say whether Steele should resign, but also added: “this kind of thing has got to stop or they won’t get any contributions.”
