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Brian Sandoval withdraws name from being considered for supreme court seat Brian Sandoval withdraws name from being considered for supreme court seat
(about 1 hour later)
Related: Sandoval withdraws from supreme court consideration – campaign live Brian Sandoval, the Republican governor of Nevada, has ruled himself out of contention for the politically charged vacancy on the US supreme court.
The former federal judge issued a statement after reports that the White House was considering him as a potential replacement for the late Justice Antonin Scalia, seen as an attempt to wrongfoot Senate Republicans.
“Earlier today, I notified the White House that I do not wish to be considered at this time for possible nomination to the supreme court of the United States,” Sandoval said on Thursday. “The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling, and I am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned.”
He gave no reason for his decision but said he had also expressed it to Republican majority leader Mitch McConnell, Democratic minority leader Harry Reid and Nevada senator Dean Heller.
Bitter political fighting over the nomination began within hours of Scalia’s death. McConnell has ruled out holding hearings for any nominee, arguing that the lifetime appointment should wait for the election of a new president.
The name of Sandoval, Nevada’s first Hispanic governor, appears to have been floated as a way of testing Republicans’ resolve and exploiting potential divisions, but was criticised by liberal pressure groups as a step too far.
Charles Chamberlain, executive director of Democracy for America, said: “After hearing the outrage that the mere suggestion of his name sparked, we are pleased that country club Republican governor Brian Sandoval has removed his name consideration for the supreme court.”
He added: “In light of Sandoval’s withdrawal, we continue to encourage President Obama to nominate a progressive nominee who, as both Bernie Sanders and Hillary Clinton agree, understands that Citizens United [the 2009 case that led to the creation of Super Pacs and opened the campaign finance floodgates] was wrongly decided and will steadfastly work to protect other core progressive values, including abortion rights, that are enshrined in our constitution.”
Heller, a Republican, gave backing to Sandoval’s announcement. He was quoted by the Associated Press as saying: “As a friend and former colleague of Governor Sandoval’s, I believe he is eminently qualified for this position. But, I support his decision to withdraw his name from consideration for the supreme court vacancy. I hope the next president will consider him in the future.”
Asked if the White House was disappointed by Sandoval’s move, press secretary Josh Earnest said: “He’s obviously entitled to make decisions about his own career. Even after the fact I’m not going to get into a lot of details about who is on the president’s list and who is not. In part, that’s because the list is not final.”
Obama will convene a meeting on Tuesday with the Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate and its judiciary committee to discuss a supreme court nominee, Earnest added. The White House has contacted every member of the judiciary panel, both Republicans and Democrats, to discuss efforts to replace Scalia.
The spokesman denied that Obama would choose a nominee on the basis of whether they are a Democrat or Republican. “This shouldn’t be about politics. It certainly shouldn’t be about party politics. This should be about fulfilling a constitutional duty to appoint someone to a lifetime appointment on the highest court in the land.”
Elsewhere, supreme court justice Stephen Breyer suggested that the court could press on in Scalia’s absence for some time despite an even split between conservatives and liberals. “We’ll miss him but we’ll do our work,” he said at the Newseum Institute in Washington. “Contrary to what a lot of people think, a lot of our cases are unanimous. The number of 5-4 cases is around 20%.”
Asked by interviewer Pete Williams if it is likely to be that way for a while, Breyer replied: “That’s your determination.”
He also spoke fondly of Scalia as a good friend with “a very sharp wit and very strong intellect” and recalled the long-service jurist’s dedication to interpreting the constitution as the founding fathers intended. “I would say, ‘George Washington didn’t know about the internet.’ He would say, ‘I knew that.’”
Breyer added: “He was absolutely serious about the constitution, about the need for the courts, and about the need for a constitution that would protect the basic rights of Americans.”
Earlier on Thursday, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton expressed concern about the possibility of Sandoval being nominated, saying she wanted Obama to pick a “true progressive”.
“Now I love Nevada, especially after last weekend, I really love Nevada,” she said during a town hall event in Kingstree, South Carolina. “I know the governor has done some good things but I sure hope the president chooses a true progressive who will stand up for the values and the interests of the people of this country, who understands that we need to protect the right to vote of a person not the right of a corporation to buy an election.”
Clinton added that she is “deeply concerned” that Republicans are unwilling to confirm – or even consider – Obama’s choice for a nominee.
“Under the constitution the president and we only have one president at a time the last I checked, the president has the constitutional responsibility to nominate a successor to that vacancy,” Clinton said, to loud applause. “And I’m very proud that President Obama says he intends to follow his constitutional responsibility.”
In South Carolina, where the president remains wildly popular among Democrats, and especially African American Democrats, Clinton has embraced the president, speaking effusively of his accomplishments and laying out her plan to “build on his progress”.
Nevada governor Brian Sandoval said on Thursday he did not want to be considered for the US supreme court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, but said the notion was “beyond humbling”.Nevada governor Brian Sandoval said on Thursday he did not want to be considered for the US supreme court vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia, but said the notion was “beyond humbling”.
“Earlier today, I notified the White House that I do not wish to be considered at this time for possible nomination to the supreme court of the United States,” the Republican governor said in a statement.“Earlier today, I notified the White House that I do not wish to be considered at this time for possible nomination to the supreme court of the United States,” the Republican governor said in a statement.
“The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling and I am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned,” he added.“The notion of being considered for a seat on the highest court in the land is beyond humbling and I am incredibly grateful to have been mentioned,” he added.
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