President Obama has vowed to uphold his constitutional duty to nominate a replacement for deceased Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Obama has yet to get to who the nominee will be. Instead he is in the unusual position of defending his right to nominate at all — since Republicans have promised to obstruct any action by the Executive branch to fill the vacancy.
Obama wrote an explanation of his priorities at SCOTUSblog.com, a popular online destination for Supreme Court watchers. In a piece titled “A Responsibility I Take Seriously” the President named the 3 characteristics he’s looking for in a nominee:
- “A sterling record”
- “A deep respect for the judiciary’s role.”
- “An understanding of the way the world really works.”
“That’s what I’m considering as I fulfill my constitutional duty to appoint a judge to our highest court,” Obama wrote.
