On Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) are heading to the White House to meet with their Democratic counterparts, Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), President Obama, and Vice President Joe Biden, to discuss a replacement for late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. Since McConnell and Grassley have ruled out even holding hearings on whoever Obama nominates, it's unlikely much of substance will be discussed at the meeting.
"At another time, the gathering might have been a nod to the tradition of at least limited cooperation in naming and confirming justices to the nation's highest court," The Associated Press explains. "The president might have floated potential candidates; Senate opposition might have come armed with their own preferred names. But in the current fight, gestures of collaboration seem moot." White House press secretary Josh Earnest said Monday that Obama will bring up the historical precedents for confirming justices in a presidential election year, while McConnell is likely to bring up Obama and Biden's previous statements on confirming justices nominated by Republican presidents.
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