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GOP says no hearings, no votes for Supreme Court nominee

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., center, joined at by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced the Senate will take no action on anyone President Barack Obama nominates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Republicans controlling the Senate — which must confirm any Obama appointee before the individual is seated on the court — say that the decision is too important to be determined by a lame-duck president. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., center, joined at by Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid of Nev., speaks with reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2016, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., announced the Senate will take no action on anyone President Barack Obama nominates to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia. Republicans controlling the Senate — which must confirm any Obama appointee before the individual is seated on the court — say that the decision is too important to be determined by a lame-duck president. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

By Associated Press 4 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – No hearing. No vote. Don’t even bother knocking on our door.

That’s the message Senate Republicans delivered to President Barack Obama and his sometime-soon nominee for the Supreme Court, an extraordinary election-year rebuff as the GOP insists that replacing Justice Antonin Scalia rests with voters in November’s election and the next president.

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said Tuesday that his 54-member GOP caucus was united against taking any step in the Senate’s “advise and consent” process. The Judiciary Committee will not hold confirmation hearings for the nominee. The panel and the full Senate will not vote. And a handful of Republicans, including McConnell, said they would not even meet with the nominee when the individual makes introductions on Capitol Hill.

“Why would I? We’ve made the decision,” said Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, a member of the Judiciary panel.

After winning unanimous public backing from the 11 Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee, McConnell told reporters that the panel would hold no hearings and ruled out a full Senate vote until the next president offers a nomination. Such steps would defy many decades of precedent that have seen even the most divisive choices questioned publicly by the Judiciary Committee and nearly always sent to the entire chamber for a vote, barring nominees the White House has withdrawn.