Fox Host Grills Lee On Blocking SCOTUS Nom: Your ‘Attitude’ Is ‘Surprising’

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Fox News’ Martha MacCallum quizzed Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) on Senate Republicans’ decision to deny President Obama’s Supreme Court nominee a hearing, telling the senator that his position is “surprising” given his reverence for the Constitution.

“The president has laid out I think what anyone would say is a very fair set of circumstances for nominating someone, so why not give this person hearing?” MacCallum asked Lee During a Wednesday interview on Fox News’ “America’s Newsroom.”

Lee, a member of the Judiciary Committee, said that Obama is “a lame duck president in his final months of office” and that voters should choose the next president that they want to select the next Supreme Court justice.

“Yeah, but I think, Senator, with all due respect, wouldn’t the American people say we elected President Obama?” MacCallum asked in response.

“We also elected the senators who are currently in office, and we expect them both, on both sides to do their job. The president’s job is to name a nominee, your job is to give that person a hearing and either appoint or not,” she continued. “So why not go through the process? Why do you get to decide that?”

“Now you’re also absolutely right, the president has the right to nominate,” Lee replied. “That is his prerogative. It’s also the Senate’s right to decide when, whether, how, to what extent, to confirm someone.”

He then argued that it’s “tradition” not to confirm Supreme Court nominees during election years.

“I don’t think that gets around the basic requirement to do the job, to go through the process, and if you all decide that you don’t want to give consent to that person, well that’s absolutely your right,” MacCallum said. “And just given your background and being such an adherent to the Constitution, it seems somewhat surprising I think to some people to take that attitude.”

She added that Republican obstruction of Obama’s nominee feeds the perception that lawmakers “are blocking things from happening on Capitol Hill.”

“We are blocking this from happening, make no mistake about it. We are blocking this one. And we feel it’s our obligation to do so,” Lee responded, adding that Obama “has overstepped his constitutional boundaries so many times.”

“But then why does it make it right to do that on your side?” MacCallum hit back. “You can look at this person and say ‘no thank you, we don’t like this person,’ but why the hesitation to have a hearing? To do the process? I think that’s what people have a hard time understanding.”

Lee replied that the Senate has “already made that decision, and it would be a waste of time and resources for us to do so.” He also said that the Supreme court is “well-equipped” to operate with just eight justices.

Watch the interview via Fox News:

H/t Media Matters

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