Funeral mass for Justice Scalia to be held Saturday in Washington
A funeral mass for Justice Antonin Scalia will be held Saturday in Washington, D.C., the Supreme Court announced on Tuesday evening.
The mass for the associate justice, who died last weekend, will be celebrated at 11 a.m. on Saturday at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington.
"The mass will be open to friends and family members," the Supreme Court said in a release.
There will be a private burial that will be closed to press.
Scalia, 79, was found dead Saturday in his room at a West Texas resort. A spokesperson for the U.S. Marshals Service said he appeared to die of natural causes.
He was one of the most conservatives justices on the high court and was its longest-serving member. President Ronald Reagan nominated him in 1986.
His sudden death has set off a political firestorm in Washington and on the 2016 campaign trail. Only hours after the news broke, President Obama immediately made it clear on Saturday that he would nominate Scalia's replacement. On Tuesday afternoon, he repeated that that's still his intention and will appoint someone "in due time."
Mr. Obama blasted Republicans who say he has no right to nominate someone and say the Senate shouldn't consider a nominee until the next president is sworn in.
"When there is a vacancy on the Supreme Court, the president is to nominate someone, the Senate is to consider that nomination and either they disapprove of that nominee or that nominee is elevated to the Supreme Court of the United States," Mr. Obama said at a press conference in California marking the end of a two-day summit between the U.S. and leaders from Southeast Asian nations.
CBS News' chief legal correspondent Jan Crawford contributed to this story.
