Hatch: "Some are Paying Very Little Attention to the Constitution"

Press Release

Senator Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, the senior member and former Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, delivered a speech on the Senate floor today to stress the importance of waiting until after the presidential election to confirm Justice Scalia's replacement to the Supreme Court.

The Constitution does not dictate how the Senate must exercise its power of advice and consent. The Constitution leaves that up to us in each situation. The Senate has never allowed a term-limited President to fill a Supreme Court vacancy that opened up this late in his term. In fact, this vacancy is only the third in the last century to occur after presidential election voting has started. The other two times, in 1956 and 1968, the Senate did not confirm a nominee until after the inauguration.

On the Democrats' slogan "Do your job:"

One of the most popular slogans in the debate over filling the vacancy left by the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia is "do your job." Never have so few words been so misleading for so many. Those who use this slogan insist that the Senate's job is to conduct the confirmation process, including hearings and confirmation votes, in a certain way whenever the President makes a nomination. The Senate, in other words, should be at the President's beck and call, configuring the confirmation process around a particular timeline that he prefers.

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