US Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia passes away, raising presidential campaign stakes even higher
US president has the job of nominating justices, and the Senate has the job of confirming but Republicans claim the vacancy should not be filled until Obama’s successor takes office next January.
The future of the US Supreme Court grabbed centre stage in the country’s presidential campaign with the sudden death of Justice Antonin Scalia, setting up an election-year battle over who should succeed him on a nine-member bench that interprets US law over such hot-button issues as abortion, gay marriage, health care and immigration.
The death of the 79-year-old conservative justice, announced by Chief Justice John Roberts, promises to provoke a major confrontation this year between President Barack Obama, a Democrat, and the Republican-led US Senate over who will replace Scalia.
The prospect of such a battle drew swift and furious comment from candidates vying to be elected president in November.
The US president has the job of nominating justices, and the Senate has the job of confirming. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, whose Republicans control the Senate, issued a statement saying the vacancy should not be filled until Obama’s successor takes office next January so that voters can have a say in the selection.
I plan to fulfil my Constitutional responsibilities to nominate a successor in due time
In California for a summit of leaders from Southeast Asia, Obama pledged to tap a replacement for Scalia and said he was confident the Senate would have “plenty of time” to review and vote on the nomination.
