Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) on Sunday slammed congressional Republicans for suggesting they would block any Supreme Court nominees put forward by President Obama. She criticized Republicans for arguing that confirmation of a justice to fill the seat of Antonin Scalia — who died over the weekend unexpectedly — should wait until after a new president comes into the office so the American electorate could have a say.
In a Sunday Facebook post, Warren pointed out that the people re-elected President Obama in 2012.
“Senator McConnell is right that the American people should have a voice in the selection of the next Supreme Court justice. In fact, they did — when President Obama won the 2012 election by five million votes,” she wrote. “Article II Section 2 of the Constitution says the President of the United States nominates justices to the Supreme Court, with the advice and consent of the Senate. I can’t find a clause that says ‘…except when there’s a year left in the term of a Democratic President.'”
Warren also pointed out that the Senate has a duty to confirm nominations to the Supreme Court.
“Senate Republicans took an oath just like Senate Democrats did. Abandoning the duties they swore to uphold would threaten both the Constitution and our democracy itself. It would also prove that all the Republican talk about loving the Constitution is just that — empty talk,” she wrote.
Shortly after reports surfaced that Scalia had passed away, Senate Republicans warned Obama not to nominate a new Supreme Court Justice.
“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,” Senate Majority Leader McConnell (R-KY) said in a statement. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.”
