Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch, a veteran member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, urged its chairman, Sen. Chuck Grassley to hold off on any Supreme Court nominee hearings until after the election.
Asked by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Wednesday if he would support a filibuster of any nominee submitted by President Barack Obama, Hatch said that would not be necessary if Grassley never held any hearings.
“I don’t think we should filibuster the Supreme Court nominee or any judgeship nominees. We wouldn’t have to filibuster,” Hatch said on “Wolf.” “All it would take is for Sen. Grassley to just say, ‘Look, we’re not going to confirm anybody this year.’ The reason we’re not going to confirm is we value the court, we don’t want it to be in this political atmosphere. We value the integrity of the court and we’re going to put it over to next year.”
Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California, meanwhile, prodded Republicans to act on an Obama nominee in an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “The Lead.”
“There’s no reason not to do it,” she said. “The President in his last year is entitled to make these appointments, and I feel very strongly that he should. I think it is possible to get someone confirmed.”
Obama said Tuesday he would submit a Supreme Court nominee who is “indisputably” qualified for the job.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said that no nominee from Obama would receive a confirmation vote in the Senate. But Grassley, the Iowa Republican who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee, has not yet decided whether he will hold confirmation hearings for whoever is submitted by the President.
“I would wait until the nominee is made before I would make any decisions,” Grassley told Iowa reporters Tuesday. “In other words, take it a step at a time.”
