Obama outlines qualities of Supreme Court nominee, urges Senate to act

A day after Senate Republicans ruled out any hearings for a Supreme Court nominee this year, President Obama said Wednesday he is giving “careful deliberation” to choosing a candidate and wants the Senate to act swiftly to fill the vacancy.

“As senators prepare to fulfill their constitutional responsibility to consider the person I appoint, I hope they’ll move quickly to debate and then confirm this nominee so that the Court can continue to serve the American people at full strength,” Mr. Obama wrote on the SCOTUSblog.

All Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee signed a letter Tuesday saying they won’t hold a confirmation hearing this year on Mr. Obama’s eventual nominee to replace the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. They said the next president should nominate someone in 2017.

Mr. Obama said it’s his appointment to make.

“It’s a duty that I take seriously, and one that I will fulfill in the weeks ahead,” he said. “It’s also one of the most important decisions that a president will make.”

Mr. Obama said he is devoting “considerable time, deep reflection, careful deliberation and serious consultation” with legal experts, lawmakers of both parties and others. His nominee will be “eminently qualified” with an “independent mind,” the president said.

“The person I appoint will be someone who recognizes the limits of the judiciary’s role; who understands that a judge’s job is to interpret the law, not make the law,” Mr. Obama said.

The president also said it’s essential that his nominee grasps how the law “affects the daily reality of people’s lives in a big, complicated democracy, and in rapidly-changing times.”