President Obama to Announce Supreme Court Nominee Today
He has devoted "a considerable amount of time" to making the decision.
— -- President Obama will announce his pick to fill the Supreme Court vacancy created by the unexpected death of Justice Antonin Scalia last month.
The president will make the announcement at 11 a.m., he said in an email early this morning. He will reveal his selection in the Rose Garden, according to the White House.
"Today, I will announce the person I believe is eminently qualified to sit on the Supreme Court," the president said in the email.
The president said he has devoted "a considerable amount of time" to making the decision and has reached out to every member of the Senate, which will, ultimately, hold the power to consider and confirm the president's nominee.
Senate Republican leadership has already vowed not to hold hearings on the president's nominee in an election year, arguing that the decision ought to be made by the next president.
In the face of the Republican promise to obstruct the president in his intention to replace Scalia, Obama argues in his email that the Senate has "a responsibility to do their job and take this nomination just as seriously."
The president said he considered three main attributes in selecting his nominee: a mastery of the law, an understanding of the limits of the judiciary to interpret and not make the law, and life experience that provides an understanding of the effect on the law beyond the courtroom in Americans’ daily life.
Obama urged those interested in staying up to date on the confirmation process to follow a new Twitter handle, @SCOTUSnom, dedicated to the purpose.