Dems shouldn’t block presidential nominations either

Democrats on Capitol Hill threw a fit when their Republican colleagues refused to even schedule a nomination hearing for President Obama’s nominee to fill the vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court. Congress successfully delayed nomination hearings for nominee Merrick Garland, arguing any hearings should wait until the outcome of the election. Now, President-elect Trump will be making the nomination for the Supreme Court seat, and Washington Democrats are threatening to try to prevent Trump’s nominee to gain congressional approval, or even refuse to hold confirmation hearings. That was a bad idea when Republicans did it, and it is a bad idea of Democrats do it. We need a fully functional Supreme Court, with all nine seats filled. With an even number on the high court, there is greater risk of gridlock, and there is some evidence that courts not fully staffed refuse to even hear some cases because they are not confident there will be any consensus. Just as was the case with Obama’s pick, Presidents have the right to make appointments to the Supreme Court. Trump won the election, and now gets to nominate justices. Members of Congress need to quit being obstructionist and get on with the business of governing.