Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA), the chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that he has not decided whether he would hold hearings for President Obama’s nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who passed away over the weekend.
“I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decisions,” Grassley told reporters, according to Radio Iowa. “In other words, take it a step at a time.”
Shortly following Scalia’s death, Republicans in the Senate, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), said that the next president should nominate Scalia’s successor. Grassley on Saturday said in a statement that “it only makes sense that we defer to the American people who will elect a new president to select the next Supreme Court Justice.”
On Tuesday, Grassley reiterated that he believes the next president should choose Scalia’s replacement.
“This is a very serious position to fill and it should be filled and debated during the campaign and filled by either Hillary Clinton, Senator Sanders or whoever’s nominated by the Republicans,” he said, according to Radio Iowa.
Grassley also mentioned 2007 remarks from Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), and Grassley said he is embracing that “same spirit” now.
“Senator Schumer talked about balance and we had balance: four conservatives, four liberals and one moderate and maintaining the balance for the supreme court is just important now it was in 2007,” Grassley said, according to Radio Iowa.
Schumer on Tuesday pushed back against conservatives who have tried to use his speech to justify an attempt to block Obama’s nominee. The New York senator said comparing 2007 and now is like comparing “apples to oranges.”
