Ryan Backs Senate Leaders Blocking SCOTUS Nom: ‘It’s About Principle’

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) said in a statement Wednesday that he supported his Senate Republican colleagues who have said they won’t move forward with President Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nomination.

“This has never been about who the nominee is. It is about a basic principle,” Ryan said in the statement. “Under our Constitution, the president has every right to make this nomination, and the Senate has every right not to confirm a nominee.”

Ryan’s statement came after Obama announced from the White House’s Rose Garden that he was nominating DC Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland to succeed the late Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court. Obama called for a “fair” process that would allow Garland an interview and a vote in the Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has repeatedly said the Senate won’t vote on President Obama’s nomination.

Here’s Ryan’s full statement:

This has never been about who the nominee is. It is about a basic principle. Under our Constitution, the president has every right to make this nomination, and the Senate has every right not to confirm a nominee. I fully support Leader McConnell and Chairman Grassley’s decision not to move forward with the confirmation process. We should let the American people decide the direction of the court.