President Obama said he’s moving swiftly to find a replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia because the high court needs to be at full strength.
“I think it’s important for the Supreme Court to have its full complement of justices,” he said during a White House press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who will be honored with a state dinner Thurday night in the White House.
Obama continued to hit Republicans for saying they will not even hold a hearing for his candidate.
“I find it ironic that people who are constantly citing the Constitution would suddenly read into the Constitution requirements, norms, procedures that are nowhere to be found there,” he said in response to a question. “That’s precisely the kinds of interpretive approach that they have vehemently rejected and that they accuse liberals of engaging in all the time.”
Obama said the GOP risks the government’s stability if it refuses to vote on his nominee. Otherwise, the Supreme Court becomes “one more extension of our polarized politics. If and when that happens, our system’s not going to work,” he warned.
Obama also believes average Americans will consider his eventual pick deserving of a Supreme Court seat.
“I’m confident that whoever I select — among fair-minded people — will be viewed as an eminently qualified person,” he said.
