Obama: 'More Than Enough Time' For Senate To Vote On Scalia Replacement
RANCHO MIRAGE (CBSLA.com/AP) — President Barack Obama says there is "more than enough time" for the Senate to consider a nomination to the Supreme Court this year, and he intends to move ahead with his choice.
The president says he intends to nominate someone who is indisputably qualified for the seat that was held by the late Antonin Scalia.
His death immediately set off a firestorm of debate across the country, with Republican Senate leaders saying they would not hold hearings on a new justice until after the presidential election, and Democrats insisting the Constitution requires such hearings and a vote regardless of whether it's an election year.
Obama says those who say he should leave the nomination to the next president are reading something into the Constitution that just isn't there.
While the president said he understands Republicans' desire not to allow him to appoint a swing vote on the nine-member court, he added failing to hold a vote is not "how our democracy is supposed to work."
Scalia died over the weekend while on a hunting trip in Texas.
Obama made the remarks Tuesday during a news conference at the conclusion of his summit meetings with leaders of Southeast Asian nations in Rancho Mirage.
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