This story has been updated.
After news of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s death, the Republican candidates for President praised his legacy as a defender of the Constitution and called him one of the history’s greatest legal minds.
Donald Trump called the justice’s death a “massive setback.”
The totally unexpected loss of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is a massive setback for the Conservative movement and our COUNTRY!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) February 13, 2016
In a note posted on Facebook, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) called Scalia “one of the greatest justices in history” who “single-handedly changed the course of legal history.”
Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement.
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) February 13, 2016
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) praised Scalia as a “brilliant legal mind,” and said the next President must nominate a successor that holds Scalia’s principles.
“The next President must nominate a justice who will continue Justice Scalia’s unwavering belief in the founding principles that we hold dear,” Rubio said in a statement.
Ohio Gov. John Kasich called his death “a serious loss to our nation and the Court.”
“He was an essential, principled force for conservative thought and is a model for others to follow,” Kasich said in a statement.
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush said in a statement that Scalia was his favorite justice whose “principled service left our nation vastly better off.”
“Justice Scalia was a brilliant defender of the rule of law – his logic and wit were unparalleled, and his decisions were models of clarity and good sense,” Bush said. “Now it is up to all of us to fight for the principles Justice Scalia espoused and carry forth his legacy.”
Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson called on the Senate to halt any attempts to fill the Supreme Court vacancy until “We The People elect a strong Constitutionalist.”
“It is imperative that the Senate not allow President Obama to diminish Justice Scalia’s legacy by trying to nominate an individual who would carry on the President’s wishes to subvert the will of the people,” Carson said in a statement.
