When Antonin Scalia died suddenly in February 2016, it seemed that his influence on the Supreme Court would also pass away quickly. By filling his seat, President Barack Obama would secure a solid liberal majority on the Court, a majority that would render unimportant the longtime swing vote of Justice Anthony Kennedy.
The Scalia vacancy was the first vacancy since 1991 in which a president of one party submitted a Supreme Court nomination to a Senate controlled by the opposing party. By following the path of election-year inaction that then-Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Joe Biden had threatened in that same context in 1992, Republican leader Mitch McConnell secured a temporary reprieve.
Read Full Article »