Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed not to confirm a successor to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, but some Republicans worry that President Obama could install a replacement anyway.
"We're in recess, so Obama can, in theory, appoint someone," a senior GOP aide told the Washington Examiner. "He could appoint [Vice President Joe] Biden tonight if he wanted to."
Obama wouldn't be the first president to use a recess appointment to place a justice on the high court. There are have been 12 justices appointed to the Supreme Court while the Senate was in recess. Dwight Eisenhower was the last president to use that power — he did so three times, according to Scotusblog.
The Senate is scheduled to be in recess until Feb. 22, giving Obama nine days to mull the idea. If Obama were to pursue that route, Republicans likely would argue that the Senate was out of session for too short a time for Obama to take advantage of the recess appointment power. But the Supreme Court has never said exactly how long a recess must be for the president to make recess appointments.
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7 comments:
First, he cannot appoint without Senate approval and second, resolution passed by Democrats in 60s prevents recess appointments and election year appointments. It was in Washington Post yesterday. The 1960 resolution ironically passed to prevent republican president Eisenhower from doing what Obama has threatened. Sometimes even in normal situations an appointment can take up to two years to go through vetting and approvals before confirmed. Don't think there's much to worry about just more white noise to avert attention.
You're wrong 12:03.
Obama does whatever the hell he wants to do. We just need to make sure a conservative is president for the next few appointments. Not Trump!! A conservative.
12:03 You have not taken into account this president does not care about Senate approval or resolutions, the constitution or even the law. Communist dictators have a way of doing what they want reguardless of opposition.
ehhh, resolutions are not laws, if they were Obamacare would be dead as there have been 53 Republican backed resolutions in the House of Representatives. I think Obama would be willing to have the fight on the Recess Appointment since the Republicans have already tipped their hands and intend to ignore the Constitution regarding a Presidents obligation to appoint SCOTUS Justices.
2:06 A president has no obligation to appoint a justice, but obviously most have felt it was advantageous to do so.
I think we'd agree appointees are aligned, to a greater or lesser degree, with the president appointing them. That said, we don't have to look back very far to find appointees who have taken different views once confirmed than what they said at confirmation, or were presumed to favor when nominated.
Obama, Clinton, Sanders, Biden, O'Malley, Warren would all put forward very similar nominees. Hairsplitting.
Obama will try to use this opportunity to his benefit; that is his MO, start to finish.
Why not just tell 'em how you can be defeated. IDIOTS!
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