U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson says there is going to be a battle in the Senate to replace Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. That battle started over the airwaves this weekend.
In the GOP debate and on the Sunday talk shows, Florida Republican Senator and presidential candidate Marco Rubio came out for delaying the process. Rubio said it’s been 80 years since a president in his final year nominated a justice to the court, a claim Politifact rated mostly false.
Rubio, along with the other GOP presidential candidates, said the next president should make the nomination. On NBC’s Meet the Press, he said there comes a time in the second term where presidents stop nominating.
“You basically say at this point with a few months left in your term, no accountability from the ballot box on the appointment you’re going to make on a lifetime appointment,” said Rubio. “These are not laws that can be reversed.”
Florida’s other senator, Bill Nelson, echoed other Democrats, saying the country can’t afford to delay the process.
“Look, the voters of Florida elected me to render a judgement, and I want to render a judgement,” said Nelson. “So I want the process to work, and I want it to work now, because there’s a lot at stake in the U.S. Supreme Court.”
Meanwhile GOP candidate Texas Sen. Ted Cruz is running a new campaign ad highlighting the importance of Supreme Court justices.