Seventeen environmental leaders sent a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell Tuesday asking him to act on confirming President Obama’s eventual nominee to the Supreme Court.
In a letter to McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, the greens said not having a fully functioning Supreme Court would harm the environment. Since the death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month, Senate Republicans have said they would refuse to take up any of Obama’s nominees for consideration.
“For the protection of our air, water, wildlife and lands, a strong and intact judiciary system is as important as ever,” the letter states. “In an era when powerful interests who profit from pollution have an unprecedented level of access and influence, it is imperative that we have functioning courts — particularly our nation’s highest.”
The letter plays off a social media campaign by Democrats imploring Senate Republicans to “Do Your Job.” The letter says Obama deserves to use all the powers of the presidency until his term ends, and that includes nominating a justice to replace Scalia.
Many Republicans have suggested Obama not even bother nominating a new justice until after November’s presidential election to give voters a say in the makeup of the court. If Obama chooses to nominate a liberal judge, and that judge is confirmed, it would change the ideological makeup of the court.
The environmental leaders, who included the leaders of the Sierra Club, Friends of the Earth and Natural Resource Defense Council among others, said refusing to even hold committee hearings on a new justice would be a “dereliction of duty” by Senate Republicans.
“With so many critical issues expected to come before the Supreme Court, including those dealing with public health and environmental safeguards, this is not the time to hobble our judiciary with extended vacancies caused by political gamesmanship,” the letter stated.
