"We believe the American people need to decide who is going to make this appointment rather than a lame-duck president," Senate Republican Whip John Cornyn (Texas) told reporters Tuesday after a special meeting of the committee.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) said members of the panel reached a "consensus" that there should not be hearings or a vote on President Obama's nominee.
"My decision is that I don't think we should have a hearing. We should let the next president pick the Supreme Court justice," he said after emerging from a meeting in Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) office.
The committee Republicans left McConnell’s office and walked straight into a lunch with the party conference to brief their colleagues.
After the meeting, McConnell said the rest of the Senate Republican Conference backed the Judiciary Committee's unanimous position.
And given their recommendation, McConnell said, he wouldn't bother to even meet with an Obama nominee.
"The overwhelming view of the Republican conference in the Senate is this vacancy should not be filled by this lame-duck president," he told reporters.
The death of Justice Antonin Scalia earlier this month created an opening on the court and triggered a battle between the White House and Republicans over filling it.
The GOP has offered mixed messages since Scalia's death over whether they would even allow a hearing on an Obama nominee, who if confirmed would almost certainly tilt the balance of the court to the left.
McConnell within hours of Scalia's death issued a statement saying that a decision on a nominee should be punted until after the 2016 election. McConnell, whose position was backed by other Republicans, argued this would give voters a role in the decision.
The White House and Democrats have argued that the Senate should consider a nominee from Obama, who is at the beginning of the fourth year of his second term. They have argued that it would be a deriliction of duty for the Senate to not consider an Obama nominee.
There have been some signs of disunity within the GOP, which faces a tough task in a presidential election year of holding on to the Senate majority.
Sen. Mark Kirk (Ill.), perhaps the most vulnerable sitting GOP senator, on Monday said he considered it his "duty" to vote on a nominee from Obama.
Republicans have sought to use Vice President Biden's past words as a weapon against Democrats.
Biden in a 1992 floor speech in the Senate argued that if there were to be a Supreme Court vacancy, it should not be filled until after that year's election.
GOP lawmakers on Tuesday cited that speech in their comments.
Biden issued a statement Monday evening arguing his comments are being taken out of context.
McConnell declined to comment to the press, only waving to reporters as he entered the GOP conference lunch meeting.
Original Article
Source: thehill.com/
Author: Alexander Bolton
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