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Rep. Duncan calls for Senate not to move on SCOTUS Appointee

Rep. Jeff Duncan's response to President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland

SCOTUS (photo: Carol M. Highsmith (Library of Congress))

Press Release from South Carolina Congressman Jeff Duncan

Duncan

Washington, DC (March 16, 2016) – In response to President Obama’s nomination of Merrick Garland to take Antonin Scalia’s seat as a Supreme Court Justice, Congressman Jeff Duncan released the following statement:

“For the past seven years, President Obama has found every possible way to abuse his Executive Authority. From packing the NLRB with unconstitutional recess appointments to executive amnesty to unilaterally rewriting his signature health care law, President Obama has repeatedly shown how little he respects our laws and our Constitution.  He has even bragged about the fact that he had a ‘pen and a phone’ to go around Congress.”

“I took an oath the uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. The Legislative Branch has an obligation to use the system of checks and balances that our Founding Fathers created for this very purpose. That includes the Power of the Purse and the nominating process. I will not in any way surrender the powers of the Legislative Branch to the Executive Branch. Congress not only has the right not to consider the President’s nomination, but  I would argue given the President’s track-record, we have a responsibility not to confirm.”

“Nominating a Supreme Court Justice is one of the weightiest decisions a President can make, and the American People deserve a say in this process.  In a 2007 speech to the American Constitution Society, Senator Chuck Schumer stood against filling any Supreme Court vacancies for the remainder of the Bush Administration. Even earlier, in 1992 as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Vice President Biden agreed.  And let’s not forget Senator Harry Reid’s troubling history of shredding process in the Senate on Judicial appointments. The Democrats need to come to terms with the precedents they have set and the consequences of their actions.”

“The clear remedy to reinsert dignity back into this process is to give the people the opportunity to speak on this issue at the ballot box in November. It’s how we can right the ship in the nominating process. I hear people every day who are angry with Washington, feeling as though no one is listening. As the Presidential contest continues in the coming months, our citizens deserve to know what kind of people their candidates would nominate to the High Court, and then make an informed decision on the direction the country will take.  Only the American people can act to restore our Constitution by denying this President another chance to harm it.”

 

Original Press Release