The White House sees Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley’s willingness to meet with a potential Supreme Court nominee as a crack in the GOP leadership’s decision to block consideration of any high court pick this year.
White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz on Thursday highlighted the Iowa Republican’s willingness to meet with a potential nominee, something Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., has said he will refuse to do.
“I did note that Chairman Grassley has broken with leader McConnell and said that he would consider meeting with a nominee,” Schultz told reporters traveling with Obama in Wisconsin. “We think that’s a good first step.”
President Obama is vetting Jane Kelly, a federal judge in Iowa, as potential nominee for the Supreme Court, and Democrats are hoping that her selection could force Grassley to change his stance and hold hearings, according to a New York Times report.
Reacting to the news, Grassley said Kelly, as an Iowan, would be welcome in his office any time but he would still refuse to hold hearings on her nomination or anyone else’s during a presidential election years.
“It’s got to be the process, and the person doesn’t matter, see?” he told the Times.
The paper broke another story Thursday that a formidable Iowan lieutenant governor, Patty Judge, would announce a decision over the weekend to challenge Grassley.
Grassley is seeking a seventh term and had previously been considered a shoo-in for re-election.
Schultz would not comment on the possibility of Kelly’s nomination and didn’t provide any update on possible timing of the president’s Supreme Court choice.
“This is something the president is spending a lot of time on… reviewing potential candidates, meeting with his team, and really looking for the best person for the job,” he said.
