Obama says senate has obligation to vote on Supreme Court justice

Republicans, Democrats argue over Constitutional duty

WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama says he believes the Senate has a constitutional obligation to vote on a president’s nomination to the Supreme Court. 

Obama made the claim Monday in an online video interview about his stalled nomination of U.S. Circuit Court Judge Merrick Garland. 

Republicans and some legal scholars dispute Obama’s take on the Senate’s role in judicial nominations. Republicans have maintained they are fulfilling their constitutional duty by choosing not to consider Garland at all. 

The Constitution says the president “shall” appoint judges to the Supreme Court “with the advice and consent of the Senate.” 

Asked if he thought that meant the Senate had an obligation to hold a vote, Obama tells BuzzFeed News: “I do.”