The White House gave no sign of when President Obama will nominate a replacement for the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but did say it wouldn’t happen over the weekend.
“Other than confirming for you that the president will not be announcing his decision at the South by Southwest event … the process of reviewing information about potential nominees continues,” he said. Earnest added that Obama will devote time to it again “most likely when the president is home on Sunday,” Earnest told reporters aboard Air Force One as they traveled to Austin, Texas, where Obama is addressing the large tech event.
Speculation has put the timing as mid-next week. But Earnest would not confirm such speculation, and when asked if Obama will announce his choice before his historic trip to Cuba March 20-21, he said “not necessarily.”
Earnest also continued chiding the Senate’s number two Republican for saying the GOP will treat Obama’s yet-to-be-named nominee like a “pinata.” Earlier this week Majority Whip John Cornyn, R-Texas, promised that his colleagues would rough up whomever Obama names.
“The president hasn’t even decided on a nominee yet,” he said. “It’s clear that Republicans vow to treat the president’s nominee like a pinata is not motivated by some sort of principle, but rather is motivated by party politics. That’s unfortunate.”
