Justice Antonin Scalia, formerly of the Supreme Court of the United States, passed away on February 13th of this year, leaving a vacant seat on the Supreme Court. As per Article Two of the United States Constitution, the sitting President will nominate someone to the Supreme Court, whenever the vacancy opens up. The nominated person will then have to be confirmed by the Senate, in order to officially serve on the Supreme Court.

In compliance with his duties as President of the United States, President Barack Obama nominated Merrick Garland, the chief judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Garland is known to have rather moderate political views and even Senator Orrin Hatch, president pro tempore of the United States Senate, and a Republican, referred to Garland as, “A fine man.”

However, Republican Majority Leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell came out and said that the Republicans of the Senate would not consider any nominee put forth by President Obama because they believe that the nomination should be left to the President that wins the 2016 Election. President Obama, and other Democrats responded by saying that there is no precedent for preventing the sitting president from naming a new Supreme Court Justice in the last year of his two-term presidency. The Republicans do not even want to have a hearing or a vote for Chief Judge Garland, and as of the date of this writing, neither has taken place. As a result, Scalia’s former seat stays open, leaving an even number of Justices on the Supreme Court and an uncertain future for the remaining months of the Obama presidency.