Dick Durbin: “every Member of the Senate stands in the well of the Senate when they are elected, takes an oath of office. That oath of…”

“every Member of the Senate stands in the well of the Senate when they are elected, takes an oath of office. That oath of office, required by the Constitution, is our statement to not only the people we represent but to the Nation, that we will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States. Article II, section 2 of that Constitution empowers the President. Those powers include the President's power to fill vacancies on the Supreme Court. It is not permissive language. The word ``shall'' can be found in this paragraph. It basically says that the President of the United States shall nominate, and by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, shall appoint judges of the Supreme Court. For the first time in the history of the United States of America, Senate Republicans are prepared to defy this clear statement of the U.S. Constitution. What an irony that filling the vacancy on the Court by the untimely death of Antonin Scalia--filling the vacancy on the Court of a man who prided himself throughout his judicial career as being what he termed an ``originalist,'' sticking to the strict letter of the law, as spelled out in the Constitution--in filling that vacancy, the Senate Republicans have basically decided to reach a new low; in fact, to make history in a very sad way. A seat on the U.S. Supreme Court lies vacant because of the death of Justice Scalia.…”