This post has been updated.
President Obama will announce his nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia on Wednesday in an 11 a.m. press conference in the Rose Garden, the White House announced in an email on Wednesday morning.
“As President, it is both my constitutional duty to nominate a Justice and one of the most important decisions that I — or any president — will make,” Obama wrote in an email.
“I’ve devoted a considerable amount of time and deliberation to this decision. I’ve consulted with legal experts and people across the political spectrum, both inside and outside government,” he continued. “And we’ve reached out to every member of the Senate, who each have a responsibility to do their job and take this nomination just as seriously.”
Reuters reported on Tuesday that Obama will choose either Judge Sri Srinivasan or Judge Merrick Garland, both of whom serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
In the email, Obama called on the Senate to consider his nominee.
“In putting forward a nominee today, I am fulfilling my constitutional duty. I’m doing my job. I hope that our Senators will do their jobs, and move quickly to consider my nominee. That is what the Constitution dictates, and that’s what the American people expect and deserve from their leaders,” he wrote.
Republican Senate leaders have said that they will not consider or hold hearings for the Supreme Court nominee before the 2016 election, no matter who Obama nominates.
