WASHINGTON (AP) – Sen. Ted Cruz’s suggestion of an indefinite Supreme Court vacancy under a President Hillary Clinton raises questions about the credibility and integrity of Republicans who have said the next president should get to the choose who fills the vacancy, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Thursday.
Earnest was asked during Thursday’s White House press briefing about the Texas Republican’s statement that there is a long historical precedent for a Supreme Court operating with fewer justices.
Earnest replied that the notion of opposing any nomination put forward by a Democratic president would be inconsistent with longstanding Senate tradition. He said historically that the Senate has evaluated candidates based on their merits.
“Republicans this year have deviated from that tradition by refusing to even consider Chief Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy on the Supreme Court,” Earnest said.
Cruz’s comment also seemingly contradicts an earlier position he took during the GOP primary when he told CNN, “I think 2016 should be a referendum on the Supreme Court.”