Opinion

Senator Donnelly: Hoosiers want Senate to do its job

Thursday, March 17, 2016
Sen. Joe Donnelly

Editor's Note: The following piece was submitted by U.S. Sen. Joe Donnelly (D-Indiana) following the passing of Justice Antonin Scalia but prior to President Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland to the vacant post.

With the recent passing of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, the time has come for the president to nominate a new justice, and for the Senate to do its job and review, consider and either confirm or reject the president's nominee.

Hoosiers don't ask much: Do your job and treat people fairly. That's what we expect from friends, family and neighbors. And it's certainly what we expect from those elected to serve us in Washington.

In Indiana, we have a proud tradition of senators who have embodied that approach by looking beyond partisanship and giving full and fair consideration to a president's nominee. That's what the people of Indiana elected me to do and what people across the country elect their senators to do, even if the timing is inconvenient for some of them.

The confirmation of a Supreme Court justice should not be taken lightly and deserves careful consideration and open debate. My colleagues, using their best judgment, are free to ultimately reject whomever the president nominates, but refusing to consider any candidate is a dereliction of our most basic duty to faithfully serve our country.

United States senators, myself included, were elected to do a job for our nation, and that job includes voting on nominees to the Supreme Court.