Never in American history has a Senate majority refused to consider or vote on anyone nominated by the current president.
Ed. note: this blog is cross-posted from the Texas Research Institute.
A new poll from CNN found that two-thirds of Americans want the U.S. Senate to have a hearings on a new Supreme Court nominee.
Americans have never had to wait longer than 125 days for a Supreme Court nominee to be confirmed. In fact, the last four Supreme Court justices were confirmed in an average of 75 days.
The poll found that:
- 66% of Americans - and 67% of Republicans, specifically - want the Senate to have a hearing on a nominee
- 58% of Americans want President Obama to fill the Supreme Court seat this year
The poll comes at a time of great division between the parties on the issue, as CNN explained:
Obama has said he does plan to nominate someone for the seat, and has called on the Senate to vote on his nominee. Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the Senate Majority Leader, has said the Senate Judiciary Committee would not hold hearings on any nominee put forward by Obama, nor would the full body vote on Obama's choice.
Seventeen Supreme Court justices have been confirmed during an election year.
Never in American history has a Senate majority refused to consider or vote on anyone nominated by the current president. Senators can vote no on individual nominees, but blocking all nominees before even knowing who they are is an abdication of senators’ constitutional duty.
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