WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama, eager to have his Supreme Court nominee seated by early October, has begun calling senators who will play key roles in the confirmation process.
While it is unclear when Obama will name a nominee, aides said he wants the process to move rapidly enough so that the Senate can confirm the person shortly after Congress returns from its August recess, if not sooner.
"We’re on a fairly tight timeline to probably get something done before Congress gets out of town in August,” White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Monday. He amended his remarks, saying that by late July, "obviously this process has to be a decent ways down the field.”
Gibbs said Obama spoke by phone Monday with Sens. Orrin Hatch of Utah and Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania to discuss the vacancy created by Justice David Souter’s announced retirement.
Gibbs hinted that Obama might prefer a relatively young person who might spend decades on the Supreme Court, where justices have lifetime appointments.
by the associated press
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