“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.” – Oath of Office, United States Senate.
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“He [the President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties…and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint…Judges of the supreme Court…” – U. S. Constitution, Article II, Section 2, Paragraph 2.
Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday sent a unanimous letter to the President of the United States informing him that they would not consider any person he nominated to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court created by the death of Antonin Scalia. Republicans in the Senate are now refusing to grant even a courtesy meeting to any such nominee, no matter who that nominee is or how well qualified.
Nothing in the Constitution terminates the Senate’s duty to advise and consent after the seventh year of a President’s term. Their preemptive refusal to perform their governmental function constitutes both a dereliction of Constitutional duty and a violation of their Oath of Office.
This goes beyond obstruction and personal distaste for the individual occupying the Oval Office. By this action, Senate Republicans are effectively giving the finger to the Constitution and their respective Oaths of Office. The damage they do is not to the President, but to our Constitutional form of government.
graphic via shutterstock.com
Contributor, aka tidbits. Retired attorney in complex litigation, death penalty defense and constitutional law. Former Nat’l Board Chair: Alzheimer’s Association. Served on multiple political campaigns, including two for U.S. Senator Mark O. Hatfield (R-OR). Contributing author to three legal books and multiple legal publications.