Not even an hour after reports that Antonin Scalia, a fiery conservative member of the Supreme Court, had died, prominent voices on the right began a drumbeat urging the Republican-controlled Senate against confirming anyone President Obama nominates to replace him.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, a leading candidate for the GOP presidential nomination, wasted little time in pushing the Republican Senate leadership to block any Obama nomination until the next president is elected and names a replacement.
“Justice Scalia was an American hero. We owe it to him, & the Nation, for the Senate to ensure that the next President names his replacement,” Cruz tweeted.
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., another Republican presidential contender, also implied that the Senate should block any Obama pick and let the next president have his choice.
The next president, he said, “must nominate a justice who will continue Justice Scalia’s unwavering belief in the founding principles.”
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell quickly weighed in, vowing that the Senate would not hold a vote until after Obama leaves office.
Amanda Carpenter, Sen. Ted Cruz’s former communications director and a frequent GOP commentator, was one of the first voices pressing the Republican Senate leadership to promise not to confirm anyone Obama names to open life-long post on the high court.
“No nominees until we get a new president,” tweeted Carpenter, who also served as former GOP Sen. Jim DeMint’s speechwriter. “The GOP Senate should not confirm a SCOTUS nom for a lame duck POTUS.”
“We should celebrate Scalia’s legacy. At the same time, we need a commitment from GOP Senate leadership: no confirmation this year,” she added in a separate tweet minutes later.
Guarding against the possibility of Obama making a Supreme Court appointment during a Senate recess, she urged McConnell, R-Ky., not to allow the Senate to go into recess until next year.
“No recess appointments from Obama,” she tweeted.
“Mitch McConnell, you have a chance to redeem yourself. Hold. The. Line,” she wrote in yet another tweet.
