President Obama Will Name a Supreme Court Nominee Who Is ‘Indisputably' Qualified

Obama's comments came after Senate Republicans said Obama should leave the nomination of Antonin Scalia's successor to the next president

President Barack Obama said Tuesday he would nominate a candidate to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court who is "indisputably" qualified. He called on the staunch Republican opposition in the Senate to rise above "venom and rancor" and give the nominee a vote.

"I intend to do my job between now and January 20 of 2017," Obama said. "I expect them to do their job as well."

Obama told reporters at a news conference in his first extended comments on the fight over filling the seat left empty by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia.

Obama cast the dispute as a question of how far Republicans want to push their opposition and whether the Senate can function in the hyper-politicized climate. Fights over judicial nominations are not new, he noted, but "the Supreme Court's different."

"This will be a test, one more test of whether or not norms, rules, basic fair play can function at all in Washington these days," he said.

Obama spoke as he closed a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders at Sunnylands, a Southern California desert retreat. Obama gathered ASEAN members for two days of talks on security and counterterrorism efforts.

But the president's attention was divided. Since Scalia's unexpected death at a remote Texas ranch on Saturday, White House lawyers and advisers have been scrambling to refine and vet a list of potential replacements, while also devising a strategy to push a candidate through the Republican-led Senate.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has said he doesn't think Obama should be putting a candidate forward. The Kentucky senator, as well as several Republican senators up for re-election this year, say Obama should leave the choice up to the next president. The November election, they argue, will give voters a chance to weigh in on the direction of the court.

Obama dismissed that notion. He has said he will put forward a replacement in due time and that he believes the Senate will have "plenty of time" to give the nominee a fair hearing and a vote. Democrats say Obama has every right and a constitutional duty to fill vacancies on the court until he leaves office Jan. 20, 2017.

The Republicans' recommended solution is "irresponsible and it's unprecedented," Sen. Pat Leahy, the ranking Democrat Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday. "The American public expects us to do the job we're elected to do. The president is going to do what he is elected to do and let's vote up or down."

The dispute reflects years of escalating partisan hostilities over judicial nominations, as well as the unusual timing.

The pace of lower court confirmations always slows in a presidential election year, as the party that does not control the White House prefers to hold out hope that its candidate will fill vacant judgeships rather than give lifetime tenure to the other party's choices.

But Supreme Court vacancies in presidential years are rare, in part because the justices avoid retiring when prospects for confirming successors are uncertain.

If Senate Republicans hold fast to their vow not to confirm anyone Obama nominates, then the Supreme Court will operate with eight justices not just for the rest of this court term, but for most of the next one as well. High court terms begin in October, and the 80 or so cases argued in the course of a term typically are decided by early summer.

The court would be unable to issue nationwide rulings on any issue in which the justices split 4-4.

Earlier, Obama and leaders of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations spent the session trading their views on China's territorial claims to disputed water of the South China Sea, moves that have sounded international alarms and heightened tensions with some association members.

Counterterrorism, a growing concern in the Asia-Pacific region, was also on the agenda.

The U.S. maintains that maritime disputes should be resolved peacefully according to international law, a stance Obama emphasized Monday in welcoming leaders of ASEAN's 10-nation bloc: Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia.

"Here at this summit, we can advance our shared vision of a regional order where international rules and norms, including freedom of navigation, are upheld and where disputes are resolved through peaceful, legal means," Obama said, opening the first ASEAN-only summit held in the U.S. The symbolism of the meeting is likely to be more significant than any outcome.

Le Luong Minh, a Vietnamese politician and chairman of the association, said the U.S. is one of ASEAN's "important dialogue partners." He called the summit an "excellent opportunity to exchange our views" on important issues.

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said ASEAN leaders hope Obama's attention and priority toward the Southeast Asian grouping will be continued and sustained by future U.S. presidents, Malaysia's Bernama news agency reported. He said 10 ASEAN leaders acknowledged that the grouping's relationship with the U.S. was as important as its relationship with China.

China says it has a historical right to virtually all of the South China Sea and has built seven artificial islands, including with airstrips, to assert its sovereignty. Taiwan and ASEAN members Brunei, Malaysia, Vietnam and the Philippines also claim land features in these potentially resource-rich international shipping lanes.

Though not a claimant, the U.S. has spoken out against China's conduct and has angered Beijing by sailing Navy ships near some of the artificial islands in a show of support for its allies. The U.S. has argued for the maritime rights issue to be resolved peacefully and is looking for ASEAN to take a unified stance and call for the disputes to be resolved based on international law. But unity could be hard to come by; ASEAN has avoided criticizing China by name in joint statements issued at past summits.

The diverse group of countries includes governments aligned either with Washington or Beijing. Only four of its members are embroiled in disputes with China and Taiwan, leading to sometimes conflicting views on how to handle long-simmering rifts.

ASEAN nations typically tread carefully, preferring not to alienate either world power. While nations may look to the U.S. to help stand up to China's assertive behavior, they still count China as their main trading partner.

Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told a working dinner of the leaders on Monday night that China's role in the region is expected to grow, and that from time to time its larger presence could lead to frictions, uncertainties and anxieties, including on the South China Sea, but these issues must be managed peacefully to preserve regional stability and security, Singapore-based Channel News Asia reported.

ASEAN statements in recent years have expressed concern over the escalating conflicts and called for freedom of navigation and overflight in the disputed territories, but they have rarely gone to specifics.

The Philippines brought its territorial conflicts with China to international arbitration in early 2013 after Beijing refused to withdraw its ships from a disputed shoal under a U.S.-brokered deal. China has refused to participate, but an arbitration tribunal based in The Hague heard the case and is expected to rule this year.

Susan Rice, Obama's national security adviser, said negotiations were continuing on a potential joint statement that would cover various topics and not focus primarily on the South China Sea.

Past U.S.-ASEAN statements have underscored a commitment to resolving disputes peacefully, freedom of commerce and navigation, and rule of law, she said.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
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