Russell Wheeler, a visiting fellow in Governance Studies and an expert on federal courts, discusses the process and politics of replacing Associate Justice Antonin Scalia on the U.S. Supreme Court given the current political climate. 

“This polarization our politics has affected the polarization of the confirmation and nomination process and I don’t see how it gets ratcheted down,” Wheeler says. “It gets ratcheted up but I don’t see what happens to get us back to the day in which the Senate basically fulfilled its duty, which was to advise and consent to confirmation of qualified nominees and we’re moving away from that basic obligation of the Senate.”

In the podcast, Wheeler gives an overview of the president's and the Senate's constitutional duties for replacing a Supreme Court justice. He also discusses the implications of appointing a Supreme Court justice now, or waiting until the next president is sworn in.

Also in this episode: another segment of “Steve Hess Stories” with Senior Fellow Emeritus Stephen Hess; and Lincoln Mitchell discusses his new book, “The Democracy Promotion Paradox.”

 

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