Obama's former Harvard classmate Judge Kelly vetted to replace Supreme Court Justice Scalia but Republican Senate insist they won't accept ANY nominee until next election

  • Judge Jane Kelly being considered for Supreme Court Justice nominee
  • Obama's former classmate may replace Justice Scalia who died last month
  • Kelly had cross party backing when she was nominated as appeals judge
  • Obama will hope she can break nomination deadlock with Republicans  
  • Republicans have refused to budge and 'will not' fill the vacancy this year
  • Obama has constitutional authority to nominate a justice in an election year, but Republicans worry it will politicize the issue 

The White House is vetting federal appellate Judge Jane Kelly for President Obama's potential U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee, a source has revealed.

Kelly, a graduate of the same Harvard Law School class as Barack Obama in 1991, is being tipped to replace Justice Antonin Scalia who died last month.

The FBI are currently carrying out background checks on the 51-year-old former public defender who serves as a judge on the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

The White House is vetting federal appellate Judge Jane Kelly for President Obama's potential U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee

The White House is vetting federal appellate Judge Jane Kelly for President Obama's potential U.S. Supreme Court justice nominee

Kelly makes an ideal candidate for the justice nomination as she had cross-party appeal when she was confirmed by the Senate 96-0 in April 2013 for the seat on the Eighth Circuit, the New York Times reports.

Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley in particular had praised her saying he was 'pleased to support' her nomination to become a judge. 

Obama may be hoping he has finally found someone who can break the Supreme Court justice nomination deadlock.

Talks between the White House and Republican Senate leaders ground to halt after just half an hour yesterday as the GOP refused to budge on its decision not to nominate until after the election.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky and Mr Grassley, R-Iowa, insisted they would not consider any nominee to the highest court during the throes of a presidential election.

Their Democratic counterparts, meanwhile, resolved to 'continue beating the drum,' Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid told reporters after the meeting. 

President Barack Obama met with Senate Republicans to discuss the vacancy in the Supreme Court

President Barack Obama met with Senate Republicans to discuss the vacancy in the Supreme Court

Joe Biden (left) also attended the meeting, along with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee

Joe Biden (left) also attended the meeting, along with Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and Senator Patrick Leahy, the ranking Democrat on the judiciary committee

'This vacancy will not be filled this year,' McConnell said after the meeting, adding that considering a nomination 'in the middle of a heated presidential campaign is bad for the nominee, bad for the court, bad for the process, and ultimately bad for the nation.'

Yet Kelly's nomination could put pressure on the Republicans, who have previously backed her.

Mr Grassey had praised Kelly during her 2013 confirmation hearing and cited a letter from his friend 8th Circuit Judge David Hansen, who  Kelly previously clerked for.

'Every sentence of it speaks highly of your work,' he told The Hill. 'Judge Hansen concludes that she will be a welcome addition to the court, if confirmed, and I have a great deal of confidence in Judge Hansen.'

CURRENT SUPREME COURT JUSTICES 

Anthony M. Kennedy -Conservative, appointed by Ronald Reagan, serving since 1988

Clarence Thomas - Conservative, appointed by George H. W. Bush, serving since 1991

Ruth Bader Ginsburg - Liberal, appointed by Bill Clinton, serving since 1993

Stephen Breyer - Centrist, appointed by Bill Clinton, serving since 1994

John G. Roberts - Conservative, appointed by George W. Bush, serving since 2005

Samuel Alito, Jr. - Conservative, appointed by George W. Bush, serving since 2006

Sonia Sotomayor - Liberal, appointed by Barack Obama, serving since 2009

Elena Kagan - Liberal, appointed by Barack Obama, serving since 2010

But the Iowa Republican claimed today that his previous support would not affect his stance on the election of a nominee before the next election. 

'I supported her for the 8th Circuit, but as I've said it's the principle not the person,' he told the Washington Times.

'If [Hillary] Clinton or [Sen. Bernie] Sanders is elected, she may be on the short list.'

Kelly, from Indiana, graduated Duke University in 1987 before winning a Fulbright Scholarship to study in New Zealand, and attending Harvard Law School alongside the future president.

She clerked for judges Donald J. Porter and Hansen, and tutored at the University of Illinois College of Law before becoming a public defender for the Northern District of Iowa, National Law Journal reports.

Mr. Grassley added, 'Supreme Court scrutiny is some of the toughest there is. Just look at Robert Bork, who was also unanimously confirmed for a circuit court seat.'

Under the U.S. Constitution, the president nominates Supreme Court justices and the Senate must confirm them. Without Scalia, the court has four conservative and four liberal justices, meaning any potential Obama nominee could tip the court to the left for the first time in decades.

 The FBI are currently carrying out background checks on the 51-year-old former public defender who serves as a judge on the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

 The FBI are currently carrying out background checks on the 51-year-old former public defender who serves as a judge on the U.S. Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

Kelly, a graduate of the same Harvard Law School class as Barack Obama in 1991, is being tipped to replace Justice Antonin Scalia who died last month

Kelly, a graduate of the same Harvard Law School class as Barack Obama in 1991, is being tipped to replace Justice Antonin Scalia who died last month

Nevada Governor Brian Sandoval, a moderate Republican, took himself out of consideration for appointment to the Supreme Court last week, a day after his name surfaced in connection with the Scalia vacancy.

The former Justice, 79, had been found dead from natural causes on February 13 at a hunting ranch in West Texas.

Supreme Court court faces a crowded docket of politically charged cases that were certain to resonate in the presidential campaign on issues such as immigration, abortion, affirmative action, labor unions and Obama's health care law.

Decisions were expected in late spring and early summer on whether the president could shield up to 5 million immigrants living in the United States illegally from deportation.

With many cases decided by 5-4 margins, and the loss of Scalia leaving the court split with four Democratic and Republican appointees each, the vacancy could have major repercussions, both legally and in the presidential race.

Scalia was nominated to the US Supreme Court in 1986 by President Ronald Reagan and was the longest-serving justice on the current Court, as well as its first Italian-American Justice. 

'The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court Justice,' Mr McConnell said shortly after Scalia's death. 

'Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new President.'

Senate Democrats argue leaving the seat unfilled for almost a year is unconstitutional.

Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has called on Obama to name a nomination immediately.

'The Senate has a responsibility to fill vacancies as soon as possible', he wrote.

Democrats threatened the Republicans (Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa) with the notion that Donald Trump could be picking the next Supreme Court nominee if they don't let Obama make the selection  

Democrats threatened the Republicans (Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., center, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa) with the notion that Donald Trump could be picking the next Supreme Court nominee if they don't let Obama make the selection  

'Would be unprecedented in recent history for SCOTUS to go year with vacancy. And shameful abdication of our constitutional responsibility.’

Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton said the Republicans who wanted Scalia's seat to remain vacant were dishonoring the Constitution.

Democrats pointed out that Justice Anthony Kennedy was confirmed in an election year - 1988 - the final year of Ronald Reagan's presidency. Kennedy had been nominated in November 1987 after the Senate rejected Robert Bork and Judge Douglas Ginsburg bowed out

Obama, who appointed Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan, during his time as president, is likely to announced his nominee in the next couple of weeks.

His former classmate, who would become the only criminal attorney on the high court bench, appears to be one of the front-runners for the nomination.

Other potential nominees include fellow appellate judges such as Patricia Millett and Merrick B. Garland, the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.

Sri Srinivasan's, 48, has been named as another top choice since 2013 when he was sworn in to the D.C. Circuit, which is seen as a breeding ground for future nominees.

During yesterday's meeting, Obama laid out his thinking on his nominee search and offered to consider any suggestions for candidates.

Republicans refused to offer any names. 

While Obama faces staunch opposition from the Republican Senate to appointing a new nominee, he may be able to make a 'recess appointment' - bypassing the Senate and placing a justice directly on the bench.

But the tactic is only allowed if the Senate is on a break, or 'in recess.' In order to avoid giving him that opportunity, Senate Republicans will likely leave their legislative body in a 'pro forma' state instead of going on vacation, leaving one senator to gavel-in and gavel-out a brief session every day so the White House can't act on its own.

 

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