Soon after Justice Antonin Scalia died on February 13, the battle over who should fill the Supreme Court vacancy commenced. Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, took the position that it shouldn’t be President Barack Obama but the next president—whoever Americans choose—who makes the nomination.

Senators differed in their reasons for wanting to put off the selection of the next justice. The most common was that the justice would determine the ideological balance of the Supreme Court, and that voters should be able to take that into account in electing the person who, under the Constitution, does the judge-picking. McConnell announced there would be no hearings on any Obama nominee, no matter who that person might be, and no votes on confirmation. The choice of Scalia’s successor would have to wait until after the next president was sworn in.