As Republican presidential candidates invoke Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s legacy, all insisting that his suddenly vacant seat shouldn’t be filled until a new president is in place, it is helpful to ask: What would Scalia do?
First, Scalia would read the law and, without much chin-stroking, recommend the obvious intent of Article II, Section 2 of the Constitution, which reads: “(The president) shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint . . . judges of the Supreme Court.”
See? That wasn’t complicated. And the Senate can always reject a nominee.
Yet, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell made it clear that no Supreme Court nominations will get to the floor. Somewhat less rigid, Sen. Chuck Grassley, chair of the Judiciary Committee, has said he’ll wait to see who the nominee is before deciding whether to convene a hearing.
All Republican candidates have expressed agreement with McConnell, with Donald Trump being the most vocal and least nuanced: “Delay, delay, delay,” he said inimitably at Saturday’s debate in South Carolina, just hours after the nation learned of Scalia’s death.