Ginsburg in 2016: President’s ‘Power’ to Fill SCOTUS for ‘Four Years, Not Three Years’
Ginsburg, whose passing last week has created a standoff between Republicans and Democrats over who should fill her vacant Supreme Court post, was asked while giving an address to the Georgetown University Law Center if there were any “constitutional arguments that would prevent” a president from a filling a seat on the nation’s highest court during an election year. The question, in particular, was posed in the context of then-President Barack Obama nominating Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland to replace Anton Scalia, a long-serving conservative jurist.
“As you know, the president has the authority to name appointees to the Supreme Court, but he has to do so with the advice and consent of the Senate,” Ginsburg responded. And if the Senate doesn’t act, as this current Senate is not acting, what can be done about it?”
The justice proceeded to argue that although there was likely no legal remedy to force the Senate Republicans to act on Garland’s nomination, she hoped “cooler heads will prevail” given the constitutional powers granted to the executive branch.
“The president is elected for four years, not three years,” she added. “So the power that he has in year three continues into year four, and maybe some members of the Senate will wake up and appreciate that that’s how it should be.”
Ginsburg’s comments to the Georgetown audience were similar to ones the justice had made in July of that year when asked if the Senate had an “obligation to assess” Garland’s nomination.
“That’s their job,” the justice told the New York Times. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that says the president stops being president in his last year.”
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