President Barack Obama is apparently considering the Republican governor of Nevada, Brian Sandoval, for the Supreme Court.
The Washington Post learned on Wednesday that Sandoval is one of the people that Obama is vetting for the nomination. Sandoval was a “centrist former federal judge,” and has served as governor of Nevada since 2011.
However, GOP leaders in the Senate continue to assert that nominating Sandoval or another Republican would not make them change their position that the president that succeeds Obama should nominate the next Supreme Court justice. There is also some question about whether Democrats would support Sandoval, with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid giving him some praise, but also saying, “I would rather we had somebody a little more progressive.”
Initially, CNN portrayed Reid as having suggested Sandoval, and as backing him as well. CNN also reported on a possible meeting between President Obama and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is adamant that the Senate won’t consider a Supreme Court nominee before the presidential election.
On Wednesday morning, Obama wrote on SCOTUS blog that he intends to nominate someone to the Supreme Court per his constitutional duty. He outlined his criteria in picking a nominee as such:
A sterling record. A deep respect for the judiciary’s role. An understanding of the way the world really works. That’s what I’m considering as I fulfill my constitutional duty to appoint a judge to our highest court. And 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.
(Via Washington Post, CNN, and SCOTUS Blog)