Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly on February 13. His unexpected death puts President Barack Obama in a unique position. The President of the United States is tasked with nominating new justices to the Supreme Court. New justices often share similar beliefs to the president. However, because this is an election year, many Republicans say the decision should wait until a new president is elected in November. That way, if a Republican becomes president, the new justice would likely be more conservative. However, others believe that Obama, a Democrat, should nominate a new justice right away. After all, Obama is still the president. And indeed Obama says he will do so. If Obama does nominate a new justice, Republicans in Congress could refuse to approve the nomination. This debate is likely to play a major role in the presidential campaigns.
Read more about the history of election-year Supreme Court nominations.
