With the current battle raging over Justice Scalia’s replacement, C-SPAN released a video from 1992 showing then Senator Joe Biden urging President Bush 41 to not nominate a Supreme Court Justice.
“President Bush should consider following the practice of the majority of his predecessors and not, and not, name a nominee until after the November election is completed,” he says at the start of the video. “The Senate too, must decide how it must respond to a Supreme Court vacancy that would occur in the full throes of an election year.”
Biden also drew a comparison to President Millard Fillmore.
“It is my view, that if the President goes the way of Presidents Fillmore and Johnson and presses an election year nomination, the Senate Judiciary Committee should seriously consider not scheduling a confirmation hearing on the nomination until after the political campaign season is over.”
Biden went to Twitter to defend himself.
In 1992, I urged the Senate and White House to work together to ensure the Court functioned as our founders intended. Remains my position.
— VP Biden (Archived) (@VP44) February 23, 2016
He then tweeted that he presided over the nomination of Justice Kennedy.
As my record shows, I presided over the consideration of Justice Kennedy,
Reagan nominee, who was confirmed in a presidential election year.— VP Biden (Archived) (@VP44) February 23, 2016
But several Twitter users didn’t buy it.
Because you filibustered Judge Bork for so long Kennedy nomination was PUSHED INTO the election year.
Shaddup@VP https://t.co/lZCHT1TDHK— Brad Slager: Annual Retentive… ???? ???? (@MartiniShark) February 23, 2016
@VP Uh. No. Ya didn't.
— Chris Tsotsoros (@ctsotsoros) February 23, 2016
This is just one volley in the war between President Obama and the Republican controlled Senate over when Scalia’s replacement should be nominated. Republicans have brought up how Senator Chuck Schumer urged the blocking of any of President George W. Bush’s nomination, as well as then Senator Barack Obama’s filibustering of Justice Alito’s nomination.
Obama later claimed he regretted filibustering Justice Alito’s nomination.
